Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
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.
I couldn't resist photographing this tiny Chipping Sparrow singing while perched on a "cedar" fence post with the sky and dark juniper behind it.
This beautiful little Lark Sparrow was so busy singing that it was a very cooperative subject and I took quite a few images of it as it sang and changed positions on the gnarly old fence post.
I also keep images of birds that look a bit messy because they are molting even if they aren't up to my standards, like this one-year-old Red-tailed Hawk that was rapidly molting the end of July in 2015.
I haven't seen many chicks yet this spring but yesterday I saw a Mallard hen with her ducklings swimming behind her on a local pond and I had to aim my lens at them.
I'm happy with both images of this female American Avocet but I think I prefer the second image more because the reflections of the water add a sense of depth and more visual interest that I find lacking in the first photo.
The movement and bird that caught my eye was a Spotted Sandpiper teetering on a rock right next to the water. I adore Spotted Sandpipers so I just had to take images of the butt bouncing bird.
I took way too many images of several approachable roadside Turkey Vultures sunning, preening, scratching and resting but I am happy with the photos of the birds.
Two years ago today I was in the Targhee National Forest of Clark County, Idaho photographing birds at what I called the "Magical Sapsucker Tree".
I always try to pay attention to what is going on in the background of my photos because by changing distance or angles the same bird, like this Swainson's Hawk, can look very different in my images.
Last week I photographed this adult Burrowing Owl in front of a green field in the bright morning light and loved the contrast between the warm tones of the owl's plumage and the deep greens in the background.
There is nothing special about this photo of a Red-tailed Hawk on a rock perch that I photographed yesterday in northern Utah but I quite like it for its simplicity.
When I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on the 12th of April I spotted a Snowy Plover way out on the flats and that thrilled me because it was only my second sighting since my move to Utah back in 2009.