Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
A month ago I photographed a pair of Williamson's Sapsuckers excavating a nesting cavity in Idaho and this past week I spent several days photographing them again.
The Fourth of July is just a day away and soon many campgrounds, parks and beaches will be filled with people celebrating and sadly leaving trash behind.
If you ever get to Utah be sure to try to spend a morning or even a full day at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge because there is always something great going on there!
The smaller a bird is the harder it is to get flight shots of them and track them with a long lens so I was very happy to get this Western Meadowlark on the wing.
I know a lot of people are suffering because of the heat of summer so I though I would post an image of a male American Kestrel perched on a frosty Rabbitbrush.
I love the stare of raptors because they always appear so serious, intense and they have a no-nonsense look to their eyes like this Red-tailed Hawk has.
Six years ago today I was sand crawling on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto's north beach photographing pelicans, godwits and dowitchers plus other birds.
Burrowing Owls are one of my favorite subjects to photograph and to get one perched with the Great Salt Lake in the background was wonderful.
I believe that even without what some may consider "the perfect head angle" that we can create interesting and compelling avian images.
I also felt trepidation about the San Rafael Swell area because nothing within this state that is filled with stones is written in stone except the ancient pictographs and petroglyphs.
It is raining here in the valley this morning and snow is falling in the high country in the middle of June so I am sitting here dreaming of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
It's Monday and I didn't have any idea what to post this morning so I opted to present this image of two Brown Pelicans flying double-decker style over the Gulf of Mexico.
The Reddish Egret is one of my favorite wading birds. Standing still they are a delight to the eyes and while hunting they can perform amazing turns, twists, gallops and appear to be dancing.
Three days ago I was caught off guard when this Western Kingbird flew in and hovered up close to me, almost too close actually.
Just a simple post of an American Oystercatcher about to be awash in sea foam at Fort De Soto's north beach taken back in September of 2008.
Yesterday morning I had Western Kingbirds and Long-billed Curlews in my viewfinder on Antelope Island State Park.
It was delightful to have light and a six-pack (plus) of birds out on Antelope Island yesterday to test my new Nikon D7100.
A simple but fishy post today of an Osprey that flew over my head at Fort De Soto County Park taken 5 years ago in Florida.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is one of my favorite places to visit during the summer to observe and photograph nesting birds and take in the beauty of the refuge.
Yesterday I photographed another lifer! An American Dipper with prey at Cascade Springs in the Heber Valley of Utah.
For a few days now I said I was going to do a post about the House Wrens I photographed at the same nesting tree as the Williamson's Sapsuckers, here it is.
While in southwestern Montana last week I did see several Bald Eagles and this adult was most obliging as it perched on a conifer in the light of the rising sun.
Today I am posting what I believe to be a Least Flycatcher that was perched in an evergreen along a road in Idaho.
I could barely contain myself because in my viewfinder was a gorgeous red, yellow and black colored male Williamson's Sapsucker.
I photographed this Osprey at Lettuce Lake Regional Park from the observation tower, the Osprey had tried to catch a fish but came up with just the filamentous algae in its talons.
I often try to capture the eye of a bird diving into the water at the moment just before the eye submerges below the surface. I was able to succeed with the Western Grebe.
A few days ago I posted about the Northern Mockingbird flight display and today I'd like to share two images of Bahama Mockingbirds photographed in the Bahamas in 2009.
The nicknames for Short-eared Owls are many and include Evening Owl, Mouse-hawk, Marsh Owl, Bog Owl and Flat-faced Owl but I just call them Shorties in the field.
Normally I prefer to have my subjects larger in the frame than this image of a Willet tiptoeing on the surface of the Great Salt Lake as it landed.
I have seen and heard more Northern Mockingbirds this year on Antelope Island State Park than any previous year since I moved to Utah.