One year ago today it was slow on Antelope Island, not many birds were close enough to photograph but on the way home I spotted this female Brewer's Blackbird on some rocks near one of the bridges on the causeway to the island.
I know that falconry birds and rehabbed raptors can be used as excellent tools in educating the public, I've been impressed with them myself. But there is a risk for falconry birds that escape and that still have jesses or anklets attached and that fact worries me.
Do not clean or adjust your glasses, this image really is that blurry!
Last winter was awesome for seeing Rough-legged Hawks and I am hoping they had another great breeding season and that they will show up here in large numbers to over winter.
Two days ago while looking for birds to photograph on Antelope Island State Park this Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) buck came into view.
Yesterday I had a bit of fun photographing this Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) at Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area, I love the snowy whites these gulls exhibit in their plumage year round
The temps are dropping here in the Salt Lake Valley, two days ago it was below freezing when we went out shooting. Winter brings challenges and birds we don't see during the summer so I am excited about that.
Kind a of a crazy title but it is a mantra that I live by when it comes to my bird and nature photography. It simply means that unless I go out shooting I won't know what I am missing.
I've had the good fortune to photograph both the eastern and western Willets in breeding plumage, the eastern in Florida and the western in Utah and Montana.
Most of the Horned Larks I photograph are perched on rocks or boulders, this one is perched on a dried pile of Bison poop. Some might think this is a crappy perch and they would be right!
Wow, this is my 500th blog post and it has been great fun to share my images and the stories behind them. I thought I'd share a few images and bits about my thoughts on photography.
While my mother was visiting Utah she was able to see how California Gulls chase and feed on Brine Flies, it is fascinating feeding behavior. As my mom watched, I photographed.
I photographed this Bison bull feeding peacefully yesterday out on Antelope Island State Park with the Great Salt Lake in the background.
Just a simple image of a male Black-necked Stilt taken earlier this year at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge. Very graceful birds.
I had another great day with juvenile Red-tailed Hawks on Antelope Island State Park last week.
Near the summit of Francis Peak, elevation 9,560 feet, I spotted this Dusky Grouse male on the edge of a gravel road with a steep drop off to the west and I was able to get a few photographs of it before we motioned to a pickup truck coming down from the summit to move forward.
Normally I wouldn't take or present an image where the subject is as small in the frame as this juvenile White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is but I couldn't resist because I like this image a lot.
I have enjoyed photographing Lazuli Buntings (Passerina amoena) near the San Rafael River at the San Rafael Swell Recreation Area. These images were taken in the spring when the males were high on perches singing to attract females.
I'm not exactly sure why this Coyote was wet but it had to have been from the water of the Great Salt Lake because the Coyote was along the causeway to Antelope Island, a couple miles from the park entrance and a couple to the island itself.
This was a life bird for my mother and I am glad she was able to see it strolling among the rocks on the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake while I photographed the curlew last week.
One foggy morning last December I spotted this juvenile Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) perched on a frost-covered rock on the causeway to Antelope Island SP with the Great Salt Lake in the background.
Early last week I thought that the Pronghorn bucks on Antelope Island State Park might be in rut, later in the week a buck's behavior confirmed that they are.
Male Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) are flashy birds but I believe the females have a subtle beauty too.
In May of this year I camped at Antelope Flat in the Flaming Gorge National recreation Area and near the boat ramp there was an Osprey nest.
Three days ago things finally fell into place, a bull on a hill top, good light, eye contact and a clouds in the background.
From all appearances the Coyotes (Canis latrans) on Antelope Island State Park are starting to put on their winter coats, they sure are getting fluffy.
This Western Meadowlark was about to take off from the boulder it was on when I photographed it on Wednesday.
These juvenile Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) images were taken on two consecutive days last week. I'm always excited to have a bird in my view finder and when I can photograph hawks for two days in a row... I feel raptor rapture.
I spot a North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) and all I have is low light. So what do I do?
I photographed this American Bison bull a few days ago on Antelope Island State Park as he was drinking from a freshwater puddle formed by rains over the weekend.