I like the setting contained in this image with a frost covered branches of a shrub with reddish bark that the White-crowned Sparrow perched on close to the entrance to Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
But for me the "Snow Birds" I have grown to love here in Utah are Rough-legged Hawks who only visit in the winter and spend the rest of their lives breeding in high subarctic and Arctic regions.
I was going to do a post about a Bald Eagle this morning but at the last minute had a change of mind and decided to work up this male American Kestrel that I photographed resting near the shore of the Great Salt Lake.
The weather forecast for today isn't as bright as it was on the day last January when I photographed this Chukar walking across a field of fresh snow instead the forecast for today is rather dreary.
In the winter I shoot a lot in fog, smog and low light conditions here in northern Utah but if you follow my blog you probably already know that and have heard me mention it a time or two (or four or a hundred).
Last week I did a post on the many nicknames used for Barn Owls and among them was "Ghost Owl" and for some reason when I first looked at this frame I thought the blurred wings did make it look "ghostly".
I spotted this beautiful American Barn Owl on a snow bank yesterday along the side of a dirt road at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area in northern Utah.
Patience is absolutely a must for bird photographers and it doesn't hurt to throw a little crazy in the mix too. Spending two hours in freezing temps to photograph a bird might be a little crazy.
It might look like this Great Blue Heron is hacking up some type of fluid seen in between and to the left of its bill but that is actually a hunk of ice attached to the heron's breast feathers.
Male Ring-necked Pheasants are a bold splash of rainbow colors against the white snow laying on the ground right now at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
The American Kestrel had just finished devouring a small bird of some sort, I really couldn't tell what it was because there were only a few small feathers left by the time I spotted the tiny falcon and when we stopped to photographer her.
Eye color can be used to sex juvenile Northern Harriers, brown for juvenile females and yellowish for the males and this harrier is a definite brown-eyed beauty.
I have mentioned in recent posts that winter can be harsh in the Salt Lake Valley in posts with images I had taken at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area so I wanted to share these two images taken there yesterday.
One of the food items that White-crowned Sparrows depend on during the harsh winters in Utah are the fluffy seeds of the Rabbitbrush that can be covered in hoar frost.
While I was photographing some ducks and grebes yesterday I spotted this female Northern Harrier in flight coming in from the south and when she flew over the water I was able to get a series of images of her against the sky.
I normally see American Kestrels with voles as prey but seeing her with the American Pipit once again showed me why American Kestrels used to be called Sparrow Hawks which is why some people probably still use that name.
I like this atypical Mule Deer because he isn't typical instead he is different, he stands out.
Some times when I open a photo I took I can't help but laugh for various reasons, in this case when I opened the file the pose of this Ruddy Duck female just "quacked" me up.
Eight months ago I spotted two Mountain Plovers on Antelope Island State Park and I am still blown away by seeing and photographing those beautiful shorebirds who are uncommon in Utah.
Simple things in nature delight me so being able to photograph this juvenile White-crowned Sparrow on a wild rose did just that, it delighted me.
Great Blue Herons are year round residents at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area here in northern Utah which means they deal with bitter cold, snow covered ground and icy water.
I love to get images of the American Bison and the Great Salt Lake in the same frame especially if there are mountains in the background so I was happy to get the snow covered Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake in this image
I was happy that I found this adult Red-tailed Hawk at Farmington Bay WMA and that it did lift off after a bit because as handsome as they can be perched they are even more beautiful On The Wing.
Yesterday I photographed two Greater Yellowlegs at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, there was snow on the ground and all around Farmington Bay the snow was falling heavily.
I woke up to a fine layer of snow on the ground this morning and silly as it may sound that gets me excited for the birds that over winter in the Salt Lake Valley such as this Rough-legged Hawk.
Yep, the bison is ticked off because I didn't give him the honor he was due. Now I guess I have stepped in bison pooh.
This past Sunday I saw my first of the season Rough-legged Hawks and I was absolutely thrilled. There were definitely five different birds and a possible sixth.
Two years ago I photographed this Rough-legged Hawk with a vole in its talons as it flew along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park with the Great Salt Lake in the background.
Lately I have been seeing White-crowned Sparrows in the West Desert, at Farmington Bay WMA and Antelope Island State Park in increasing numbers and many of them will over winter here in the Salt Lake Valley.
Quite often I don't have much time at all to get ready to take images because you need to get close to the subject, find a good angle of light and make sure your camera settings will produce the best image for the conditions.