Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
My favorite image of the day was this high key Mallard drake portrait that was taken in the late afternoon which was the only time I could see the sun behind the clouds the whole day.
This portrait of a head on Ring-billed Gull in a snow storm was taken 364 days ago at a local pond near home and I liked it because the gull looks a touch grumpy.
I like how both these two American Wigeon photos turned out even though they were taken in different lighting conditions, they are both pleasing to my eye.
My best finds of the day yesterday morning were two American Bitterns on the riverbank of the Bear River at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, birds I do not normally see in January here in northern Utah.
So what did I do? I kept firing as the Snowy Egret flew past me keeping my focus on the eye of the bird and that is when I took this photograph of the egret in flight.
When I can get beautiful light on a Swainson's Hawk and deeply shadowed mountains in the background Mother Nature creates the drama.
I locked on to one of the mallard drakes and when he flew past I was able to take some nice photos of him before he landed on the water
People who are environmentally conscious and whom respect and love nature already know this, they are my sisters and brothers at arms.
I can't be certain this is the same goose that I saw on December 26th but I found an immature Snow Goose feeding with some Canada Geese in the grass across the pond.
Perhaps I am easy to please but I got a real kick out of photographing this American Coot while it bathed, shook and fluffed on the pond close to home.
These two photos of Canada Geese were taken in very different lighting conditions and while both tested my skills as a bird photographer one of them required more thought from me and challenged my skills more too.
It is hard to figure out who is the lucky duck here, the Common Goldeneye for catching the crayfish or me for seeing the duck with the crayfish and photographing it.
I wonder how long this pair of American Wigeons will hang around, I hope it is long enough for me to see more green iridescence on the drake's head and long enough for me to take more images of them.
One of the drake Common Mergansers I saw yesterday flew over the pond and past me close enough for me to take two photos of it up close in the late evening light.
Finding and photographing the surprise Peregrine Falcon with prey was one of the brightest spots of my day.
The first bird I photographed that day was a Yellow-crowned Night Heron wandering in the sea fog near the dunes and shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico.
I've found American Kestrels to be "stickier" in cold weather and it wasn't much above 20°F when I photographed him as he consumed the vole bit by bit.
The last birds I photographed in 2017 were American Coots and some of the first birds I took photos of in 2018 were also coots.
If I hadn't turned my Jeep around when I did in the direction I chose I would never have found three adorable Short-eared Owl chicks not far from the shoulder of the road in beautiful morning light.
I love what I do, I love my subjects and it doesn't matter if I find them close to home or further away. I am blessed. 2017 has been wonderful and I am excited for what 2018 may bring.
I always feel fortunate when I am able to photograph Chukars in the snow on the island because it helps to make them more visible than they are during other seasons of the year
Photographing the Mallards in flight in golden afternoon light was a terrific way to end my bird photography session for the evening.
I'm over the moon that I was able to photograph these Common Mergansers landing and lifting off from the pond yesterday and I am pleased with the photos I took.
The funniest photo I took yesterday, the one that made me laugh out loud the hardest, was when a crayfish landed on the Pied-billed Grebe's head after the bird shook it hard.
I really wanted some nice bird photos to remember Christmas Day 2017 and I found them but just a few blocks away from home at the local pond.
Four years ago I photographed a American Barn Owl in a winter white out at Farmington Bay WMA and I have to admit that photographing it was tough.
Eight days ago I spent time photographing an immature, light morph Rough-legged Hawk at Farmington Bay WMA in northern Utah.
I opted to leave my teleconverter on while photographing this bathing American Coot
Three afternoons ago I captured images of not just one flying crayfish in the air but two of them because of the Pied-billed Grebes capturing and consuming the freshwater crustaceans.
It isn't everyday I get to see and photograph a Great Blue Heron in flight with the Wasatch Mountains in the background but I had that opportunity two afternoons ago at a pond close to home.