Bird Images From Warmer Days And All At 300mm Or Less
Gray skies, freezing temps and the inversions are beginning to get to me so I thought I would share some bird images from warmer days on Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in sunny Florida.
Gray skies, freezing temps and the inversions are beginning to get to me so I thought I would share some bird images from warmer days on Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in sunny Florida.
Five days ago I posted a Bald Eagle image where the eagle was small in the frame and explained that I felt that the setting was as important as the subject, I also feel that way about this image of a Red-shouldered Hawk juvenile perched in a tree.
Fog can add a moody feel to images and yesterday there was plenty of fog at Farmington Bay WMA. There were a few Barn Owls hunting for food and I captured images of this one as it flew towards me.
I haven't had many opportunities to photograph the Harlan's subspecies of the Red-tailed Hawk so I was thrilled yesterday when I spotted a juvenile dark morph Harlan's Hawk feeding on a dead American Coot on the bank of a creek.
The adult Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons aren't terribly difficult to tell apart though the juveniles can be more of a challenge.
These Chukar images were taken last Friday and this bird is the same one in my post titled "Some fun with birds from yesterday", I wanted to share more photos of it.
Yesterday Ron, Brian Gatlin and I went to Bear River National Wildlife Refuge and the Golden Spike National Historic Site area in bad light, falling snow and lake fog looking for birds to photograph and we came up pretty much empty-handed but we did find this adult Bald Eagle perched on some snow-covered rocks going towards the Golden Spike National Historic Site Visitor Center as the snow fell.
A wonderful fun-filled day with great companionship and plenty of birds. I can't ask for more.
I dare news agencies to write factual articles about the inhumane practice of slaughtering Coyotes which has been proven by science to be largely ineffective in controlling their population, to observe the Coyotes being blown up in their dens and to witness the suffering of these animals when they are caught in traps.
Ring-necked Pheasant males are far more colorful than the females and in snow they seem even more vividly colored.
I photographed this perched Barn Owl yesterday at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area in northern Utah near a hill that was covered in snow which gave this image a high key effect.
I have been noticing more Ring-necked Pheasants than usual of late but that it mostly because the birds don't blend well into the snow and we have had plenty of the white stuff fall the past few weeks.
American Barn Owls are typically strictly nocturnal but during harsh winters with lots of snow they do hunt during the day here in Utah.
Early yesterday morning Antelope Island State Park did not have the best conditions for bird photography, there were clouds, a bit of lake fog and low light so when I spotted this Golden Eagle perched on a sagebrush in those conditions I was dismayed.
I spotted this Great Blue Heron yesterday at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area and loved the setting with the fresh snow blanketing the steep creek bank.
It is almost hard to believe that in just two months these Chukars will be fighting for territories as they begin the mating season while there is over 9 inches of fresh snow on the ground where I live this morning.
Because of image theft I have made some changes to my blog, one of the first that will be noticed by people who have subscribed to my blog is that I will only be using a summary for my published posts from now on.
The answer to the ID quiz is a female Green-winged Teal! Out of 49 people taking the quiz there were 6 votes for Mallard, 8 votes for Blue-winged Teal, 9 votes for Gadwall and 26 votes for Green-winged Teal.
One very foggy May morning I came across a small flock of Roseate Spoonbills in a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto's north beach and photograph them for about 15 minutes before they flew off to find food.
I photographed this female duck yesterday morning at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area in northern Utah, she was on ice that was covered by frost flowers and was moving towards a group of males that were in open water.
This image soothes me because of the still water, the relaxed pose of the calm Snowy Egret and the memories of how delightful it was to be on the north beach of Fort De Soto
I've mentioned before that Great Blue Herons stay in the Salt Lake Valley over winter even though the temperatures get very cold and so do some of the Black-crowned Night Herons.
A few of my non-Utahn friends have asked me what an inversion is after I have mentioned it, this image might help to show what an inversion can look like.
Looking at the huge lobed feet of American Coots is enough to make me laugh. Yesterday I just could not resist these birds.
These two "Great" images were taken two minutes apart of two different "Great" wading birds in Florida.
I am intrigued by how these herons evolved to have long necks that give them the ability to make lightning fast strikes at their prey some distance from their bodies.
The weather forecast for yesterday was "mostly sunny" and once again the weather forecasters were wrong, at least for the period of time I was out photographing on Antelope Island State Park.
2012 was a fantastic year for me as a photographer and I am looking forward to the joys that 2013 will bring. Happy New Year to all.
Yesterday I spotted a covey of Chukars on Antelope Island foraging in the snow, this Chukar was pulling guard duty and standing on top of a snow covered rock and for a bit it was calling.
I wanted to share a few images taken two days ago when Antelope Island was covered with a fresh snow fall. The entire island looked glorious and the sunlight caused the snow to sparkle much to my delight.