Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
Female Red-winged Blackbirds seem to be the birds that are most often misidentified probably because they look so different from the males. Red-winged Blackbirds are sexually dimorphic .
I was looking through my archives from last year and came across some images I had taken last June in Morgan County, Utah that I hadn't processed yet and I came across these Cedar Waxwing photos.
When this Barn Swallow started to stretch its wings I was ready for the action and took several photos of it while it stretched on top of the fence post.
Two years ago today I was in Beaverhead County, Montana photographing Cassin's Finches foraging on the seeds of dandelions on a morning that had sunshine and plenty of fog.
I photographed this male Belted Kingfisher last month as it perched on a thin branch at a small pond close to the Jordan River in Salt Lake County, Utah.
Someday I will get the images I desire of these dainty Northern Yellow Warblers. Bird photography is challenging and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I was ready when this Green-tailed Towhee perched on a lichen topped fence post yesterday long enough for me to fire off 30 frames before he flew down to the ground.
Last week while I was photographing a handsome Green-tailed Towhee in the Wasatch Mountains a bright Northern Yellow Warbler caught my eyes when it landed on a flowering shrub.
I photographed my first of the year Common Nighthawk yesterday in northern Utah after I found and pointed it out resting on a red gate about mid-morning.
Yesterday I was able to photograph the largest buteo in North America, a gorgeous Ferruginous Hawk that was on top of a hill with the Stansbury Mountains of the West Desert in the background.
Gray Catbirds are related to mockingbirds and thrashers and are in the family Mimidae and all of them are noted for their vocalizations and their ability to mimic a wide variety of bird songs and calls and human made sounds.
One good bird can make the the day when photographing birds in the field, yesterday that bird was a male Green-tailed Towhee I spotted perched on a shrub in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains.
A little more than a week ago I spotted this Forster's Tern resting on a log in the water at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge from the auto tour loop and I felt I had to hop out and take a few images from across the hood of my Jeep
Even though it is late May there are still male Red-winged Blackbirds displaying and singing their little hearts out here in northern Utah and that is what this male blackbird was doing.
I was surprised yesterday to be able to take portraits of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds because they normally fly away from me instead of flying towards me.
When I arrived at the parking area where the auto tour loop begins at the refuge I spotted a fluffed up curbside Barn Swallow warming up in the sunlight and couldn't resist photographing it.
People usually think of American Coot chicks as either cute or ugly, I'm in the cute camp when it comes to these chicks.
Two days ago I photographed one of the adult Great Horned Owls at the hay barn on Antelope Island State Park that appeared to be winking.
Lark Sparrows are only in Utah during their breeding season so whenever I have the opportunity to photograph them and their bold facial patterns I am thoroughly delighted.
Yesterday morning I drove up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to see what birds I could find to photograph and I am glad I did because I had a wonderful juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron close up experience.
Yesterday morning I photographed this Swainson's Hawk while it perched on a fence post in northern Utah
Two days ago the first bird I put my lens on was a Short-eared Owl perched on a rusty metal post looking over its shoulder in morning light.
This photo of a preening Great Blue Heron on an old stump in the water of the Gulf of Mexico is far from perfect but I still like it for the behavior that it shows.
Last year I was able to spend time photographing this male Tree Swallow in low light in the Targhee National Forest of Idaho and even though the light wasn't the best I still liked the resulting images.
I love all birds, even birds that some people tend to ignore when it comes to bird photography but I have to admit that I am particularly fond of photographing owls, especially Burrowing Owls.
Normally I prefer natural perches for my subjects but I rather enjoyed photographing these Turkey Vultures and thinking of them as feathered gatekeepers.
There are so many Swainson's Hawks in northern Utah right now, I see them perched, on their nests, hovering over fields and soaring on the thermals after the sun warms up the air.
There have been a few Short-eared Owls that I keep seeing in the same locations over a period of about a month and yesterday I believe that I saw and photographed a male Short-eared Owl hunting for prey for his chicks.
I was able to point my lens at this male Red-tailed Hawk on a lichen-covered perch for a few frames before he flew away.
There was a very cooperative first spring male Northern Harrier in a location where I photographed Short-eared Owls last year in northern Utah and for two months I could reliably see and photograph it frequently.