How I Found My First Of Season Rough-legged Hawks
It was a very memorable first of year sighting of these Rough-legged Hawks. The kind where you sit there wondering if you really saw what you saw.
It was a very memorable first of year sighting of these Rough-legged Hawks. The kind where you sit there wondering if you really saw what you saw.
Starting today I will be keeping an eye out for the return of Bald Eagles to the lower elevations of northern Utah.
Our eyes can play tricks on us and that is what happened with this "headless" Red-tailed Hawk that I photographed last October at Farmington Bay WMA.
The first bird photos that I took yesterday morning in the desert were of a Ferruginous Hawk perched on a fence post in pre-dawn light.
I am now on the lookout for my first of season Rough-legged Hawk. I hope to spot one soon.
I almost missed finding this adult dark morph Red-tailed Hawk last Sunday because when I first spotted the hawk he was behind a tree in dark shadows but I recognized the shape and form of the raptor.
When the Red-tailed Hawk took a pre-flight poop I thought I'd get my chance at those lift off and flight photos.
Yesterday on the last full day of summer I found a couple of hawks in the West Desert including this immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk.
When I spotted the light colored breast of this immature light morph Red-tailed Hawk from a distance it seemed to glow in the morning light.
Yesterday I found an adult Turkey Vulture perched on a metal pipe with a field of sunflowers below and it behind it. I liked the pop of yellow in my photos of this bird.
I went out into the West Desert yesterday and came back with more Red-tailed Hawk images that I was delighted to have taken and that I am happy with.
Last week I photographed a very cooperative adult Red-tailed Hawk that was next to a road in the West Desert of Utah on a smoky morning.
It didn't take long before the Red-tailed Hawk raised its wings to lift off from the juniper with a smoky blue sky in the background.
Do you remember playing I Spy when you were a child? I do.
The first time I raised my lens yesterday morning it was for blooming Prickly Poppies that were along the shoulder of the bumpy gravel road.
The last bird I photographed high in the Wasatch Mountains three days ago was an adult Turkey Vulture perched in an aspen in a smoky haze.
Yesterday I went up to northern Utah hoping to take photos of some Red-tailed Hawk chicks that I know will soon be leaving their nest and I found them.
The last time I was in the Wasatch Mountains I had a brief window of opportunity to photograph an adult Golden Eagle in flight.
Last week I made two trips out to the West Desert and today I am sharing a medley of recent birds that I found while I was out there.
It just seemed appropriate to share a defecating Red-tailed Hawk on day three of crappy weather here in northern Utah.
The Swainson's Hawk that I spent the most time photographing was snuggled into the top of a sage and he was very calm and confiding.
I have shared photos of this gorgeous dark morph Swainson's Hawk before and since today is the four year anniversary of me finding it I thought I would share one more.
I was hoping to find my first of the year Swainson's Hawks yesterday but instead I spotted my first of year Ospreys.
I haven't found my first of season Swainson's Hawk yet but I expect that to change any day now as spring migration is almost in full swing.
Yesterday morning I was able to photograph a spring Turkey Vulture warming up in the morning light from a rural road in Box Elder County.
Last week I spotted and photographed a mated Red-tailed Hawk pair on the branches of a tree in front of a cliff in early morning light.
Red-tailed Hawk nesting season has started in northern Utah and I found a few pairs yesterday morning that have already gotten busy with nest building.
Yesterday afternoon I received an email from the UBird Google group with a first of the year Turkey Vulture sighting and that got me excited.
When I spotted this immature Bald Eagle high in the Wasatch Mountains three days ago I hoped at some point to get photos of it in flight.
Yesterday morning was clear, bright, chilly, and I spent ten minutes photographing an adult male Rough-legged Hawk that I found in the West Desert.