Five years ago today I was laying in the warm wet sands of Fort De Soto County Park's north beach as the salty water from the Gulf of Mexico soaked my skin while photographing a Ruddy Turnstone doing what they do best, turning things.
Last week I was Thinking Pink so this week I thought I would focus on the shades of blues found in wildflowers, birds, the sky and seas.
The American Bison on Antelope Island are starting to show signs of shedding their winter coats and for awhile they will look a bit ratty.
Great Horned Owls and Horned Larks are species of birds that have tufts that I photograph regularly here in Utah.
This time of the year I start dreaming about the Centennial Valley of Montana and of the birds that call the valley home during the summer.
Even though I only got out to photograph birds three times this week each of the days I did get out were very memorable!
Male American Kestrel in low light
I wanted to share a few more of the Mountain Plover images I took which are a lifer bird for me as well as being rare in Utah.
What I saw through my lens was a Mountain Plover, a bird I have long dreamed of seeing. A rarity here in Utah.
American Oystercatchers were among my favorite shorebirds to photograph at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach when I lived in Florida.
This female Great Horned Owl was resting at the opening of an old granary in Glacier County, Montana when I photographed her.
I'm not sure why I wanted to do a post using images with pinks but here they are, a flower, a bird and pink kissed clouds.
This juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk was perched on a metal fence post so I opted to go for a portrait to remove the "hand of man".
Northern Rough-winged Swallows have a wide range in North America but because of their drab colors they are often overlooked by bird photographers, they are the "plain brown bird" of the swallow family.
The only native true lark that lives and breeds in North America is the Horned Lark.
Male Boat-tailed Grackles have velvety black feathers that glow in the right light with iridescence purples, blues, teals and greens.
Who knew that one day my photos would be in a book published by National Geographic? I am truly honored.
I photographed this male Long-billed Curlew last week as he was starting to lift off.
From the plumage pattern, the bill, shape of the bird, colors and the bright red eye ring I was able to ID this fine feathered friend as the world's first Brown Cowbird x Painted Bunting hybrid ever!!
These Pronghorn images were taken a few years ago during the spring and I thought I would share them this morning partly because the yellow flowers in these images; Gray's Biscuitroot, have just started to bloom this year.
I photograph tons of male Horned Larks but don't have that many images of female Horned Larks, I was happy to find this beautiful female dancing and singing on a boulder in early morning light yesterday in Tooele County, Utah.
This American Bison bull weighs in at about 1,500 pounds, he is wild and you don't want to tick him off like one man did on Antelope Island last weekend.
Tooele County beckoned yesterday and I am glad it did because of coming across this adult Red-tailed Hawk.
This Forster's Tern image was taken several years ago on Fort De Soto County Park's north beach while it was resting on the sand as another tern was flying towards us both.
I photographed this Lance-leaf Arrowhead at Roosevelt Wetland in Pinellas County, Florida several years ago.
Early morning light is a delight and adds a nice mood to images like this one of a Willet in flight.
Just some funny images of birds for a Monday. These photos just beg for humorous captions.
When we stopped at one of the parking lots that overlooked Bridger Bay I heard a call that made me jump in my seat and before I could say "Long-billed Curlew!!" I could see the bird flying towards the grasses.
This male Tree Swallow in flight image was taken two years ago at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana and for some reason I had not processed it until now.
As soon as this cold front passes I will be out looking for the birds of spring including these majestic Swainson's Hawks.