I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.
My post yesterday was about my computer not booting which messed up my morning post. Today my post is about getting my computer to boot yet I'm still feeling frazzled.
Today I wanted to write about how I found this secretive Virginia Rail in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.
One of the other things that made me upset with Bob the Sandhill Crane being killed is that this could have been prevented.
Yesterday morning while up in the Wasatch Mountains I heard Sandhill Cranes calling repeatedly and when I spotted them I also found a Coyote near the cranes.
Today I wanted to share an assortment of spring birds all photographed at Bear River MBR yesterday on a bright and beautiful morning.
I spent a few minutes photographing Sandhill Cranes twice yesterday, once not long after sunrise and then later in the morning.
It was the highlight of my morning to find, observe, listen to, and photograph ten Sandhill Cranes at Bear River MBR yesterday.
After an extremely snowy night and morning I was able to get out yesterday afternoon and take some wintry American Coot portraits close to home.
In 2020 I had my first of year Sandhill Crane sighting on February 23rd. This morning I can barely wait to see and hear Sandhill Cranes again.
February 2nd is World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the critical role of wetlands for people, wildlife and our planet.
Three days ago I photographed this adult American Coot bathing on a sunny afternoon at a pond close to where I live in Salt Lake City.
I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.
What we can see are greenish, lobed feet and a dark, rounded body. With just those two identification features can you guess which bird these feet belong to?
Typically I have a personal rule about having eye contact with my subject and I also want a catch light but to get this coot photo I had to break my own bird photography rules.
This adult American Coot may look like it is screaming but in reality it is simply calling out because another bird got close to it next to the shoreline of a small pond.
Today I wanted to focus on Virginia Rails because I don't find them out in the open very often, they are such secretive marsh birds.
I was delighted to hear the Sandhill Cranes calling yesterday. Their bugling calls touch me and remind me that I am every bit a part of nature as the cranes are.
Eleven years ago today I was wandering and looking for birds to photograph at Lake Seminole Park in Florida and found a very cooperative Limpkin that was foraging for breakfast.
When I notice an American Coot exhibiting patrolling behavior I will often aim my lens at them because there could possibly be a chase or fight within seconds.
When the American Coots come close to me I am also able to take portraits of them that show their red eyes and their ivory colored bills with their reddish-brown frontal shields.
I especially enjoy watching American Coots in winter when they try to use their large greenish feet to walk on ice because that can be rather comical and I love to laugh.
May is a time of renewal at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and as the marsh begins to green up the migrant birds return and along with the year round residents their songs and calls can be heard over the wetlands.
I was very excited to spot my first of year Sandhill Cranes yesterday near the causeway to Antelope Island where a pair of the cranes were foraging on the flats of the Great Salt Lake.
I was drawn to this photo because of the light on the Sandhill Crane and the grasses it was foraging in plus how that contrasts with the dark shadows on the mountains behind the bird.
An American Coot with a dirty bill wasn't shy at all when it climbed out of the pond close enough for me to take portraits of it.
At home when I could see the photos I had taken on a much larger screen I nearly choked on my laughter when I saw this image of the coot vigorously shaking its food
This photo of a resting Great Blue Heron with American Coots was taken yesterday afternoon when the sun was shining on the same shoreline of my local pond as one of the photos I shared here on my blog yesterday.
Neither of these images will knock anyone's socks off but for me they show these coots and geese in the snow storm and the harsh conditions they live in, just birds being birds.
I kept hoping that this running American Coot would become airborne but my hopes were dashed because it stopped short of taking flight.