Stansbury Mountains

Another Scrub-Jay Name Change in 2024

By |2023-12-05T04:38:31-07:00December 5th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ophir Canyon, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Lately, I've been wondering what the new name for the Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay species, that I photograph here in Utah, will be when it is changed in 2024.

Fall Male Horned Lark Plus A Bonus Photo

By |2023-10-07T04:35:02-06:00October 6th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Horned Larks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning, I spent time photographing a male Horned Lark perched on a barbed wire fence in the West Desert, with Stansbury Island in the background.

West Desert Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk

By |2023-11-24T03:29:26-07:00November 21st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Nearly three years have passed since I found, pointed out, and photographed this stunning dark morph Ferruginous Hawk in the West Desert of Utah.

World Sparrow Day 2022

By |2023-11-06T03:43:33-07:00March 20th, 2022|Categories: American Tree Sparrows, Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Brewer's Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Daggett County, Dark-eyed Juncos, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Green-tailed Towhees, Harris's Sparrow, House Sparrows, Lark Buntings, Lark Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, Morgan County, Sagebrush Sparrows, Salt Lake County, Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Stansbury Mountains, Summit County, Tooele County, Utah, Vesper Sparrows, Wasatch Mountains, White-crowned Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today is World Sparrow Day and since I love all of the sparrows on the planet I thought I'd share some of the sparrows I have photographed in North America.

October West Desert Views Of Clouds, Mountains, And The Moon

By |2021-10-10T06:19:13-06:00October 10th, 2021|Categories: Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today I wanted to share these photos of some West Desert views of clouds, mountains, and the moon because I'd like to be out there seeing and photographing them all.

First Winter Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By |2021-09-23T08:56:59-06:00December 16th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two years and one day ago I only photographed two birds on a trip out into the West Desert and this light morph Ferruginous Hawk made the trip well worth the journey out into the cold.

Photographing An Immature Ferruginous Hawk Hunting For Breakfast

By |2024-02-22T06:17:58-07:00November 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning not long after sunrise I spent some time photographing a light morph, immature Ferruginous Hawk hunting for its breakfast.

The Winds Of Change Affect My Access To Some Mountain Canyons

By |2022-05-27T06:50:25-06:00November 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I always feel a sense of sadness when I can't get to those mountain canyons and the birds that live there all year long when they close those gates for the winter.

An Immature Light Morph Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By |2021-09-22T13:31:07-06:00November 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The highlight of my morning yesterday was when I spotted an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk perched on a cedar post in the West Desert.

Male Cassin’s Finch Eating a Mountain Mahogany Seed

By |2021-03-12T14:53:05-07:00November 2nd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Cassin's Finches, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Cassin's Finches are year round residents in Utah but I don't see or photograph them nearly as often as I would like.

Dark-eyed Junco And Rabbitbrush

By |2021-02-20T09:19:14-07:00October 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Dark-eyed Juncos, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One of the Dark-eyed Juncos that I had in my viewfinder was perched on top of a rabbitbrush with seeds and fluff in its bill that turned its head towards me.

Mountain Chickadees – Listening For Their Songs And Calls

By |2021-04-27T15:38:23-06:00October 27th, 2020|Categories: Mountain Chickadees, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I listen for birds everywhere I go. Their calls and songs help me to locate them so I can photograph and observe them as they go about their lives.

Adult White-crowned Sparrow Perched On A Stump

By |2022-06-06T03:48:32-06:00October 10th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This is a really simple photo with three features, the White-crowned Sparrow, the stump, and a very dark background.

Kinglets And Turkeys Plus One Scrub-Jay

By |2023-01-11T17:41:55-07:00October 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Wild Turkeys and the Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay made the very bumpy and extremely dusty ride into the mountain canyons well worth taking.

Male Mountain Bluebird Glowing In Early Morning Light

By |2021-03-27T05:56:40-06:00October 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Mountain Bluebirds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This male Mountain Bluebird seemed to glow in the early morning light which was in sharp contrast with the shadows on the mountains in the background.

Photographing Red-breasted Nuthatches Isn’t Easy

By |2023-09-24T03:41:12-06:00October 6th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Red-breasted Nuthatches aren't easy to photograph because they are tiny, they move quickly and their flight patterns are fairly unpredictable. Finding the right habitat, their habitat, can make it fun.

Young White-crowned Sparrow Portrait – Peeking Out Of Junipers

By |2024-02-26T05:19:32-07:00October 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I didn't get the photos I wanted of the sparrows perched on the rabbitbrush but I like this portrait of the young White-crowned Sparrow in front of it just as well.

Desert Cottontail Portraits

By |2021-01-04T10:32:22-07:00October 3rd, 2020|Categories: Desert Cottontails, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last month when I spotted a Desert Cottontail in the mountains of the West Desert I knew I wanted to take photos of the rabbit especially since it was so close that I could take portraits of it.

Surprise Immature Osprey In The West Desert Of Utah

By |2023-03-27T07:13:44-06:00October 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ospreys, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I don't know how many times I have said "expect the unexpected" since I began photographing birds while talking to fellow photographers.

Autumn Wild Turkey Close Up Photos

By |2021-10-11T06:04:34-06:00September 30th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

There were a few times when the Wild Turkeys stood upright and looked right at me as I photographed them and I took full advantage of the opportunity to take portraits of the large birds.

Least Chipmunk With a Fly On Its Head – Things That Make Me Laugh

By |2021-07-13T13:16:30-06:00September 23rd, 2020|Categories: Least Chipmunks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

There are times I see funny things while I am out photographing that tickle me so much that I have to laugh out loud and yesterday that was this Least Chipmunk with a fly on its head.

Warbling Vireo And Fall Colors In The Stansbury Mountains

By |2021-05-18T16:23:57-06:00September 22nd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, Warbling Vireos, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When this Warbling Vireo popped into my view I knew if I wanted to photograph it I had to hurry because these small vireos move fast.

My First Desert Tarantula Sighting In Utah

By |2023-10-05T05:03:01-06:00September 11th, 2020|Categories: Desert Tarantulas, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was so excited that I was shaking because the creature I had found was a Desert Tarantula which was my first sighting of one in Utah.

One Bad Mama Mountain Bluebird And Her Swiss Army Knife

By |2021-03-27T17:12:36-06:00May 6th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Mountain Bluebirds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Imagine my surprise when through my viewfinder I could see that the female Mountain Bluebird had landed on a Swiss Army knife that was stuck into the bark of one of the trees.

West Desert Wild Turkey Tom Strutting And Displaying

By |2021-02-27T15:53:27-07:00April 10th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I took hundreds of photos of the tom Wild Turkey fanning his tail, walking on the dirt road, strutting and displaying for the hens I could not see. And for those moments all seemed right in the world.

West Desert Male Horned Lark Singing On A Snow-topped Fence Post

By |2021-04-03T05:25:03-06:00April 5th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Horned Larks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I photographed this adult male Horned Lark singing on a snow-topped fence post three days ago after a spring snow fell overnight in the West Desert.

Smoke Phase Wild Turkey Hen Photos

By |2021-04-22T03:31:09-06:00April 3rd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Someone at sometime had tossed a soda can into the junipers and the Wild Turkey hen walked right in front of it during the few seconds she was out in the open.

Smoke Phase Wild Turkey Hen Plus A Displaying Tom

By |2023-01-25T03:44:24-07:00April 2nd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

If I hadn't have been paying attention yesterday I might have missed out on spotting a flock of turkeys in some junipers and photographing a smoke phase Wild Turkey hen.

Some Days In The Field Are Mostly For Learning

By |2023-09-28T06:49:14-06:00January 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning I didn't press my DSLR's shutter button a single time while I was out in the field so I came home without a single photo of a bird or animal but I did come home with something else. Knowledge.

Mountain Chickadees Are Fun But Challenging To Photograph

By |2021-04-27T16:05:30-06:00November 8th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Mountain Chickadees, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning I spent a few minutes photographing Mountain Chickadees foraging in Douglas Fir trees which was a lot of fun but challenging too.

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