Last evening when I walked outside to move my Jeep into the driveway I glanced towards the east to view the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains.
I found quite a few birds yesterday in far northern Utah and of all the photos I took this autumn Townsend's Solitaire was my favorite.
Four years ago I found a Marsh Wren perched on a Cocklebur on a bright October morning in the wetlands of the refuge.
My eyes and my birding instincts didn't lead me astray because there was a Clark's Nutcracker perched at the top of the fir.
Yesterday morning I took a series of photos of a Snowy Egret at Farmington Bay WMA with the strangest shadows I have ever seen.
Nearly hidden in the marsh vegetation was an immature Black-crowned Night Heron perched on some phrags at the edge of the water.
Drought stressed Douglas Fir trees will produce what is called a "stress crop" of cones which is what I believe is happening to the firs in this location.
About a week ago I photographed a young Pied-billed Grebe that was still in juvenal plumage on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA.
When the Red-tailed Hawk took a pre-flight poop I thought I'd get my chance at those lift off and flight photos.
I liked these Snowy Egret photos because of the contrast of the bird's stark white plumage against the deep blue of the sky reflected on the water.
When I took these Barn Swallow images earlier this week I wondered if the swallows I was photographing would be my last images of them this year.
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.
Greater Yellowlegs migrate starting in the summer until late in the fall and return early in the spring. I will be seeing them until about December here in Utah.
When I saw this Ring-billed Gull perched on a wooden pole at Farmington Bay WMA last week I knew I wanted to have it in my viewfinder.
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.
I have a soft spot for gulls so when I had the opportunity two days ago to photograph this Franklin's Gull flying in a smoky sky I was both excited and thrilled.
Yesterday was kind of an opening day at Farmington Bay and the Snowy Egret show was the highlight of the day.
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.
This photo of an immature White-crowned Sparrow perched on a lichen covered rock has some of the colors of fall in it.
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.
Last month I had a brief photo session with a young Song Sparrow near a creek in bright morning light high in the Wasatch Mountains.
When I look at this photo of a Willet in the waves of the Gulf of Mexico I can almost hear the sounds, taste the tang of salt in the air and feel the warm water on my skin.
I like having my windows open so I can hear the sounds of birds when I can't be in the field. It helps me to hear them especially when the world is so crazy.
One of the other things that made me upset with Bob the Sandhill Crane being killed is that this could have been prevented.
Today is National Hummingbird Day and I am celebrating by sharing some Rufous Hummingbird photos I took earlier this week on Antelope Island.
Yesterday I went out to Antelope Island for the first time since April and I took hundreds of Rufous Hummingbird photos plus some of the rising sun.
Sage Thrashers are only in Utah for their breeding season and by now all their chicks have fledged and are feeding on their own.
Two days ago I was able to spend a few minutes taking Black-capped Chickadee photos as small flock of them foraged in Common Mulleins.