Tooele County

Blooming Lewis’s Flax

By |2022-04-26T09:49:15-05:00June 6th, 2021|Categories: Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wildflowers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I wanted to follow my post about a blue bird with blue wildflowers so here are some photos I took last week of Lewis’s Flax which are also known as Wild Blue Flax.

Lark Sparrow In Golden Morning Light

By |2021-06-04T05:29:30-05:00June 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Lark Sparrows, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago I photographed this adult Lark Sparrow that I found perched on an old fence post in golden light in the West Desert of Tooele County.

Chipping Sparrow With Food For Its Chicks

By |2021-06-03T05:28:36-05:00June 3rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Chipping Sparrows, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was photographing a Lark Sparrow when I spotted this Chipping Sparrow with food in its bill fly in and land on a juniper bough.

Recent Birds I’ve Found In The West Desert

By |2024-02-26T10:14:55-06:00May 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, House Wrens, Lazuli Buntings, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, Warbling Vireos, West Desert, Western Kingbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week I made two trips out to the West Desert and today I am sharing a medley of recent birds that I found while I was out there.

West Desert Rock Wren Photos

By |2023-03-31T16:06:50-05:00May 30th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rock Wrens, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I have been able to take more Rock Wren photos in the West Desert the last two times I have wandered out there.

Male Western Tanager Close Up Image

By |2021-05-29T06:35:00-05:00May 29th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Western Tanagers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago I had the opportunity to photograph a male Western Tanager up close in the foothills of some of the sky island mountains in the West Desert of Utah.

Female Black-chinned Hummingbird And A Knothole

By |2021-05-28T05:24:26-05:00May 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday while out in the sky island mountains of the West Desert I spotted a female Black-chinned Hummingbird repeatedly checking out a knothole in a tree.

Subadult Peregrine Falcon

By |2021-05-24T05:52:59-05:00May 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Peregrine Falcons, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week before I found the Rock Wren I wrote about I also found a subadult Peregrine Falcon perched on a wooden post in the West Desert.

Trees, Shrubs, Wildflowers And A Butterfly

By |2024-02-09T04:59:37-06:00May 23rd, 2021|Categories: California Tortoiseshell Butterflies, Shrubs, Tooele County, Trees, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On a recent trip to the West Desert sky island mountains in Tooele County I found my lens pointed at trees, shrubs, wildflowers and a butterfly.

Nesting Lark Sparrow Photos

By |2021-05-22T04:54:46-05:00May 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Lark Sparrows, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One of the first birds I heard singing three days ago in the West Desert of Tooele County was a Lark Sparrow perched on top of a sagebrush.

Singing Rock Wren In The West Desert

By |2023-03-31T15:45:16-05:00May 20th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rock Wrens, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday when I spotted a Rock Wren singing from the top of a juniper in Utah's West Desert I hoped to take a few decent photos of it before it flew away.

Pronghorn Buck And West Desert Sky Island Mountains

By |2021-03-19T05:50:38-05:00March 19th, 2021|Categories: Juab County, Pronghorn, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wildlife|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I found and photographed this Pronghorn buck in Utah's West Desert after photographing birds at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge in April of 2019. 

Spring Wild Turkey Tom Displays

By |2024-03-21T16:09:24-05:00March 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The last time I was up in the Wasatch Mountains I found a Wild Turkey tom displaying next to some old farm equipment for the nearby hens.

West Desert Male Rough-legged Hawk

By |2022-04-20T21:21:32-05:00March 3rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning  was clear, bright, chilly, and I spent ten minutes photographing an adult male Rough-legged Hawk that I found in the West Desert.

Male Rough-legged Hawk Photos

By |2022-04-20T21:21:48-05:00February 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Earlier this week I photographed a light morph, adult male Rough-legged Hawk in the West Desert of Utah with three different backgrounds.

Ferruginous And Rough-legged Hawk Lift Off Photos

By |2022-04-20T21:22:12-05:00February 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning I was able to take Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawk lift off photos where both of the raptors still had their feet on their perches.

Male, Female, and Immature Horned Lark Photos

By |2021-04-03T06:06:58-05:00February 5th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Horned Larks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

After photographing this male Horned Lark on Antelope Island three days ago I decided to share a photo of him plus female and immature larks in a single post.

A Cook’s Memorial? Odd Things I Find While Looking For Birds

By |2021-01-19T06:03:13-06:00January 19th, 2021|Categories: Miscellaneous, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As best as I can figure out what is in this photo is a cook's memorial that I found 7 years ago today out on a range in Utah's West Desert.

First Winter Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By |2021-09-23T08:56:59-05:00December 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 |2024-02-22T06:17:58-06:00November 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.

Looking Back On Photographing A Rare Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk

By |2023-05-05T10:10:15-05:00November 16th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Leucistic, Rarities, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Even though it is now four years later I still look for this striking leucistic Red-tailed Hawk in Tooele County and hope to find and photograph it again one day.

The Winds Of Change Affect My Access To Some Mountain Canyons

By |2022-05-27T06:50:25-05:00November 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 |2021-09-22T13:31:07-05:00November 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 |2021-03-12T14:53:05-06:00November 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 |2021-02-20T09:19:14-06:00October 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 |2021-04-27T15:38:23-05:00October 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.

Barbed Wire Death Trap – Western Meadowlark

By |2024-02-18T06:31:58-06:00October 15th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Over the past month I thought about whether I wanted to share images and tell the story of this Western Meadowlark that lost its life because of a barbed wire death trap and finally decided that the story needed to be told.

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