Even though I am primarily a bird photographer I can't resist photographing other subjects especially if those subjects have wings so when I saw a White-lined Sphinx moth yesterday I simply had to focus on it for a bit.
Some birds that are molting can look a little odd and this molting male Yellow Warbler with a stubby little tails fits that description perfectly.
I kept my focus on this male American Goldfinch and when he lifted off I was able to take a photo with his wings raised just as he started to take flight.
I missed out on photographing Showy Milkweed in bloom in the lower elevations of northern Utah but not at the higher elevations of the Wasatch Mountains.
Yesterday I was delighted when I spotted a Warbling Vireo at the top of some nearby willows and that the vireo stayed long enough for me to take a few photos of it.
I was glad to have so many immature Song Sparrows in my viewfinder that were out in the open on the ground and perched up higher.
I was able to get back out into the field yesterday and I had a marvelous time photographing young Spotted Sandpiper chicks and learning more about their behaviors near a creek in the Wasatch Mountains.
Just a short post today with a photo of a male Broad-tailed Hummingbird getting nectar from an unknown wildflower, or at least it is unknown to me.
I'm confident in my North American bird ID abilities but when it comes to Fritillary butterfly species ID in the Wasatch Mountains I feel stymied a lot of the time.
The light wasn't great when I took this image of a juvenile Song Sparrow perched in a thicket last year but these little ones don't seem to spend a lot of time in the open right after they fledge so I was happy with the photo.
Mark your calendars because there is a yearly Spider Festival on Antelope Island State Park and this year the festival is being held next Saturday on August 3, 2019.
I don't have many photos of siskins in my portfolio and every year I hope to add more so when I was able to photograph a Pine Siskin foraging in a willow 5 days ago I was thrilled.
This was the first immature Green-tailed Towhee I have seen this breeding season and I am hoping that it won't be the last one I photograph this year.
I was excited and enchanted by seeing and photographing at least two Spotted Sandpiper chicks yesterday morning near a creek up in the Wasatch Mountains.
Last year I was able to take hundreds of photos of this male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage while he fed on the seeds of a Musk Thistle.
I could wish that the Orange-crowned Warbler didn't look as messy as it does but I am just so glad to have taken even one image where the orange crown is visible that I would toot a horn if I owned one.
These two Black-necked Stilt photos were taken 9 days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I thought they could easily show the difference between the female and male of this species.
As I photographed a pair of Uinta Ground Squirrels in a sagebrush high up in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday I realized that before long these squirrels will be gone from my view.
I was glad to focus on the Black-crowned Night Herons I saw that morning because of late I have seen fewer of them than I have on past years which has meant fewer opportunities to photograph them.
This Black-capped Chickadee's plumage isn't in prime condition but I feel like my work as a bird photographer includes taking images of them looking great and not so great because it is all part of the cycle of their lives.
I was extremely pleased to find and photograph my first Gray Catbird juvenile of this breeding season yesterday morning high in the Wasatch Mountains as it came into view on a hawthorn tree.
Back in early June I had the opportunity to photograph a male Belted Kingfisher up close high in the Wasatch Mountains but due to circumstances beyond my control I missed those shots.
I've been looking for Orange-crowned Warblers in the Wasatch Mountains to get better images of them this year and so far my best chance has been with this messy looking one I saw and photographed yesterday.
Just looking at these photos of American Robins in the deep snow made me feel a few degrees cooler and I thought they might have the same effects on other people dealing with the high temps of summer too.
I spent part of my morning yesterday photographing American Avocet and Black-necked Stilt chicks from the auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and it was a blast watching these young shorebirds.
This MacGillivray's Warbler was foraging at the base of a serviceberry when I photographed it facing me and until I took photos of it I hadn't realized how big their eyes are for a warbler.
Just a few days ago I was listening to Song Sparrows singing on the East Coast and yesterday I was listening to them singing in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah.
It seems that I have spent a lot of time photographing Willow Flycatchers this year and I am happy that I have because I enjoying taking photos of these flycatchers.
One of the dragonflies I photographed back East was a female Common Whitetail that was resting on a sidewalk, this dragonfly let me get close enough to take nice images even with my cell phone.
Sometimes the simplicity of an image is what draws me in and keeps me happily satisfied with it and that is what I enjoy about this photo of a Snowy Egret in flight over the marsh at Bear River MBR, the simplicity.