Immature Rough-legged Hawk – Lift Off, Landing & Lunch
Yesterday morning I was able to photograph an immature Rough-legged Hawk lifting off, landing and lunching at Farmington Bay WMA in northern Utah.
Yesterday morning I was able to photograph an immature Rough-legged Hawk lifting off, landing and lunching at Farmington Bay WMA in northern Utah.
I've seen people struggle with seeing the differences between male and female American Kestrels and I hope this simple comparison will help.
The lives of these Great Blue Herons sure are different when you compare December in Utah to December in Florida.
I was able to photograph several California Quail in snow yesterday in Davis County, Utah and I was also able to listen to at least one male calling.
I'm seeing more American Tree Sparrows than I've seen since I moved to Utah in 2009 and I hope that means they had a very successful breeding season in 2017.
One of the things that make my feathers ruffle though is when I see people post a bird photo and call it a "seagull" because there is no such thing as a seagull.
There are other differences in plumage between Prairie and Peregrine Falcons that show in my photos but by using just their heads it is possible to make a quick ID in the field.
Last week while on Antelope Island State Park I was able to get some White-crowned Sparrows in my viewfinder, some were pretty far away
Redhead drakes are more colorful than the hens and I always enjoy having them in my viewfinder because of their cinnamon colored heads, their bright orange eyes and their tri-colored bills.
It can be especially fun to watch these small grebes catch a fish to eat and then see the other Pied-billed Grebes nearby try to steal the fish away from it because of the action that can occur.
Within the flock of blackbirds there was a female Brewer's Blackbird that drew my attention to her because she had light colored eyes and stood out from the other females that were nearby.
Many species of birds on Antelope Island State Park are pigging out on wild sunflower seeds at this time of the year including Red-winged Blackbirds.
The birds and beasts on Antelope can survive the harsh winters here but as each years passes I wonder how they will be able to adapt to our changing climate. I can't help but be concerned.
I have been having fairly good luck spotting American Tree Sparrows this fall and when this one popped up on top of a greasewood yesterday I was delighted.
While looking for an image in my archives I came across this photo of a Marsh Wren making a funny face while doing the splits on some cattails at Farmington Bay WMA and wanted to share it.
Yesterday an early morning session with a Coyote, the Great Salt Lake and some rocks made my day, I was so very happy to photograph the "Song Dog".
I wasn't sure I wanted to write this post about an imprisoned Lark Sparrow I heard about on a Facebook group that is about identifying birds but after mulling it over I decided I'd tell the story.
There are big differences in the ways I photograph Greater Yellowlegs here in Utah than there were when I photographed them in Florida.
Earlier this week while photographing birds at Farmington Bay WMA I was able to take images of a one second scuffle between two American Pipits.
I have an alternate title for this post which is "Invasive European Starlings perched on invasive Russian Olives" because both the birds in this post and the trees are not native but introduced.
I always have fun photographing Brewer's Blackbirds even though they are a challenge to expose properly, it is precisely that challenge that keeps me on my toes.
American Pipits aren't flashy birds, their coloring might even be called drab by some people, but I have a great time photographing them whenever I can.
Yesterday morning while looking for birds to photograph on Antelope Island State Park I had two White-crowned Sparrows fly into a rabbitbrush that was so close to me that all I could do was take portraits of them.
The plumage of male juvenile Red-winged Blackbirds is highly variable during their first year, some of the young blackbirds can look like females and some can look more like adult males.
I've been seeing plenty of White-crowned Sparrows on Antelope Island State Park of late and yesterday they were busy feeding on the wild sunflowers that grow there.
It was a real treat for me yesterday morning to photograph another Sagebrush Sparrow on Antelope Island State Park when I spotted it pop up on a clump of greasewood.
I spotted my first of the season Merlin yesterday morning out on the flats at Farmington Bay yesterday morning and it truly delighted me.
Last month I was able to photograph flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes on the Great Salt Lake when they were migrating through the area.
I can't pick a favorite between these two Song Sparrow photos because I find them both visually appealing and I don't feel a need or a desire to pick one over the other.
Just a simple post today of a simple bird, a dorsal view of a Ring-billed Gull in flight over a water feature at Farmington Bay WMA.