These two photos are of the same adult American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) in sequential order taken at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida. I was laying in the sand while I created the images to get a low angle and the bird was on a ridge elevated slightly higher than my location.
Yesterday while I was out photographing Long-billed Curlews this California Gull (Larus californicus) flew in so close that all I could do was take portraits of the bird.
I love the challenge of photographing white birds and getting the exposures right, I like to nail it. Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) are great birds to practice getting exposures of the whites set correctly.
It won't be long before the high, scratchy kweea kweea calls of Clark's Grebes are heard in Utah's Bear River National Wildlife Refuge if they haven't already arrived.
Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) were common year round along the Gulf coast when I lived in Florida. I would see them floating in the water, resting on sandbars and beaches, diving for prey and in flight.
When I moved from Florida to Utah I felt it was fortunate that some of the nonbreeding birds I used to see in Florida during the winter I now get to see in breeding plumage on their nesting grounds.
This past week I have seen a few Sage Thrashers on Antelope Island State Park and although none of them were close enough to photograph I know it won't be long before I will be able to create new images of them.
I've selected a few Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) images taken a few years ago to post today.
The image above was taken at Fort De Soto on Florida's Gulf coast. The Willets there are habituated to people and because they are it is easier to approach them than it is here in Utah.
Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) have thus far been a nemesis bird for me and when I spotted one yesterday I thought I might finally get the shots I have long wanted.
I've been seeing more and more Loggerhead Shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus) pairing up the past week or so which means it won't be long before they are on their nests.
Had I not seen that moving, tan blob beyond my viewfinder I could have easily missed being able to create these Chukar images. Sure, I have hundreds (if not thousands) of Chukar images but I am always looking for different poses, light conditions and settings to photograph my subjects in and this worked out very well.
Yellow-headed Blackbirds have begun to show up in large numbers in my area of the country. I'm seeing them perched on cattails, phragmites and in flight.
Normally during the month of February Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area has hundreds of Bald Eagles within its boundaries but that was not the case in February 2012.
Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) are common in my area and I often overlook taking images of them because of that. I really shouldn't though because they are beautiful birds.
I wanted to take some photos of the Coyote because I liked the rim lighting on the right side of the Coyote's neck, muzzle and ears.
White-faced Ibises (Plegadis chihi) breed and nest in the freshwater marshes around the Great Salt Lake. Generally they migrate south for the winter though this winter there were a few that stayed at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
How blue can blue be? I think Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoide) males are a wonderful example of just how blue a bird can be.
Just an image I took yesterday of this male Northern Harrier in flight. As simple as the image is I like the great eye contact it has.
Not far from where I live there is a small pond where I photographed this American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) just after it had lifted off from the water two springs ago.
Brewer's Blackbirds may not be the most well known of the Blackbird family; I am fairly certain that the Red-winged Blackbirds have that claim to fame, but they are beautiful and interesting subjects to photograph.
The behavior of the Chukars indicates that the males are already acting territorial and fighting for the right to mate.
When I lived in Florida I saw Raccoons (Procyon lotor) all over the state. In the wild, the not so wild and in the streets of the cities. But that isn't how it is in Utah.
I've always liked this photo because it shows how this American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) is using its long bill to pry open a shell.
Chukars are not native to North America, they were introduced as game birds and in some areas they have thrived, one of those locations is Antelope Island State Park in northern Utah.
This California Gull in flight was being buffeted by the wind, I had trouble keeping my lens steady because of it too.
Farmers don't like Richardson's Ground Squirrels much, they dig holes that could break the legs on livestock and eat grains and the shoots of plants, I can understand those concerns. But I have to say... I love them, they are fun to watch and photograph.
I have had an amazing time photographing Prairie Falcons (Falco mexicanus) since last fall. Since the ducks are no longer near the causeway to Antelope Island I have had a more difficult time locating them because they are now searching for their normal winter diet of Western Meadowlarks and Horned Larks which are found more "inland" on the island.
Certain species of birds ride on the backs of Bison and feed on the insects they find in the Bison's fur; European Starlings are among those birds.
Last year while I was camping and photographing at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge I saw a feeding frenzy that involved Franklin's and California Gulls in the flooded grasses and Sagebrush flats near the Lower Lake.