I noticed a Mallard hen and was watching and photographing her when the gulls swarmed around her like bees do honey and caught her immediately after a Ring-billed Gull grabbed her bread right out of her bill.
Wow, today is the last day of the year 2016. This is my photographic year in review from Utah, Idaho and Montana!
When the birds settled back down on the pond this American Coot walked up onto the shore with the open water behind it and I couldn't resist taking portraits of it.
Ten days ago I photographed a manky mallard at my local pond and when I pulled images of it up on my monitor I discovered that it has a hidden "face" and once I saw it I couldn't un-see it. Do you see it?
Yesterday morning at my local pond I took a series of images of a Canada Goose lifting off plus more photos of the Canada x Snow Goose hybrid I found there.
Two days ago I was surprised by being able to photograph a Common Merganser hunting close to the shoreline of a nearby pond in Salt Lake County.
The typical eye color for California Gulls is a very dark brown that appears almost black in most cases but there can be variations in their eye color.
This Canada Goose hybrid could be a Canada x Snow Goose or a Canada x Greater White-fronted Goose hybrid, those two species make the most sense to me, but I can't be certain of its parentage.
I photographed this male Common Goldeneye in breeding plumage on the Jordan River in Salt Lake County, Utah in low light on a cold morning.
Three days ago when the sun broke through the clouds in the afternoon I went to the pond and was able to take several Canada Geese portraits with the blue water of the pond in the background.
The American Coot seemed to turn its head a few times to see if it was still being chased and when it saw that it was it it kept scooting across the surface of the pond and always kept its bill clamped down on its food.
It was fun photographing this Double-crested Cormorant with its catch yesterday afternoon close to home especially since I knew the weather was going to take a turn.
This Redhead drake photographed at the refuge in his breeding plumage sure stood out well from the water that was reflecting the spring growth of rushes and phragmites.
Photographing American Coots is a challenge because I want my exposure set bright enough so I can capture fine details in their dark plumage
There were several hundred Canada Geese on the pond and because I have seen reports of Cackling and Snow Geese in the area I scanned the pond with my lens and spotted a lone Snow Goose.
American Coots have interesting behaviors that I like to try to capture, for instance the way they run across the surface of the water during territorial chases.
I always enjoy when the Clark's Grebes return to northern Utah and hope that this year I will be able to photograph their weed ceremony or them rushing.
I was able to take a Mallard drake portrait of one of the ducks that were close and loved how this showed the blue green iridescence.
Yesterday I had my first opportunity to photograph a nearby female Belted Kingfisher in Salt Lake County, Utah and I had fun getting to know her.
Since the freezing temperatures arrived in my neighborhood I have been listening to a five o'clock Great-tailed Grackle cacophony nightly.
My post today is an image of an immature White-crowned Sparrow molting into adult plumage and two images showing a juvenile and an adult for comparison.
When I came across the Canvasback drake on a frigid February morning at a pond near where I live I simply had to get a few images of him.
I haven't posted any Common Mergansers lately and today I thought I would because we should start seeing them soon here in northern Utah.
With the forecast of possible snow this week I've been thinking about how much fun it can be to photograph Pied-billed Grebes in the wintertime again.
Yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was able to photograph a Mallard drake as it lifted off from the water on the south side of the auto tour loop.
Anyone who has worked on their own web site that allows comments knows that there are times you get a strange comment that make you scratch your head.
Last February; when there was actually snow on the ground, I photographed a pair of Redhead ducks at a pond near where I live.
Yes, I am being slightly anthropomorphic but this is one serious looking Coot.
American Coots are common birds and some folks might find them fairly plain but I like them and enjoy photographing them too.
The caruncle or horn is a growth on the bill of American White Pelicans that occurs yearly during the breeding season.