Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
Lately I've been seeing and hearing more and more Canada Geese close to home and that has made me start thinking about winter, snowstorms, whiteouts and high key images of birds.
Three days ago I spotted an immature Great Blue Heron resting at the edge of the water at Farmington Bay WMA and couldn't resist taking photos of it.
Yesterday morning I was able to take close up photos of a drake Green-winged Teal paddling away from me at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
You take photos of ten species of birds and the twelve photos of a Ring-billed Gull in flight are the images you are the most excited to view when you get home.
Even though it is now four years later I still look for this striking leucistic Red-tailed Hawk in Tooele County and hope to find and photograph it again one day.
I was looking through images I had taken this summer and decided to share a close up of a male Belted Kingfisher with prey that I photographed in the Wasatch Mountains this summer.
Please, please, find an authorized and licensed bird or wildlife rehabilitator in your area immediately.
Any time I can see and photograph two falcon species in a single day is a great day and yesterday I photographed a Prairie Merlin and several American Kestrels.
Veterans Day is always held on November 11th and is a day set aside to honor all of those who have served our country in war or peace.
The name "Great Blue Heron" has always seemed off to me because these large herons are much more gray than they are blue.
When the weather turns colder, the clouds gather, and the snow falls I still have plenty of birds to photograph here in northern Utah.
I always feel a sense of sadness when I can't get to those mountain canyons and the birds that live there all year long when they close those gates for the winter.
Today's post is about an American Oystercatcher image I took in 2009 at Egmont Key in Pinellas County, Florida, and the story behind it.
I am always looking for Short-eared Owls in northern Utah because they are year round residents here but they are nomadic which means I don't always see them.
The highlight of my morning yesterday was when I spotted an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk perched on a cedar post in the West Desert.
It has been too long since I have had a Northern Harrier in my viewfinder although I'm now excited because I know that fall and winter are great seasons for me to find and photograph them.
This male Cassin's Finch did pop out into the open with a mahogany seed in his bill and even though he was in the shade I took a few photos of him.
In the right light Brewer's Blackbird males are very colorful because their feathers glow with blue, green, and purple iridescence.
Bird photography was a little slow at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning until I spotted a Common Loon floating on the Bear River.
I don't have nearly enough Gadwall photos in my portfolios and I honestly don't know why that is the case since they are year round residents here in northern Utah.
Yesterday opportunity knocked when several Lesser Goldfinches flew in to knosh on wild sunflowers seeds near a road at Farmington Bay WMA.
One of the Dark-eyed Juncos that I had in my viewfinder was perched on top of a rabbitbrush with seeds and fluff in its bill that turned its head towards me.
I listen for birds everywhere I go. Their calls and songs help me to locate them so I can photograph and observe them as they go about their lives.
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.
Being concerned about shorebirds in harsh winter weather isn't unusual but despite their delicate appearance these shorebirds are tough.
It does not matter where I am or what I am doing, I am never not looking for birds.
Is one of these immature Great Blue Heron images more visually appealing than the other? That depends on the personal tastes of the person viewing them.
I can barely wait to hear and see my first of season Tundra Swans and to see them on the wing over the marshes that surround the Great Salt Lake.
Last year by this date I had taken hundreds of photos of American Pipits. So far this autumn I have taken Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch.
I'm hoping that this week I'll be able to spot my first of the season Rough-legged Hawks and that I'll be able to get photos of them too. Fingers are crossed!