Looking For Burrowing And Short-eared Owls
I'm getting ansty for spring migration and for the birds that it will bring including Burrowing and Short-eared Owls which I always look forward to photographing here in northern Utah.
Sandhill Cranes In Flight During Spring Migration
The last couple of times I have gone to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and further north of there I have been so happy to hear and see, even if from a long distance, the return of our Sandhill Cranes.
Bananaquits In The Bahamas
I've never seen a Bananaquit in person or in photos that didn't look like it was grumpy, I guess it is their facial features and the downward curve of the bill that makes me think that but I still think they are gorgeous little birds.
Looking For The First Of The Year Sage Thrashers To Arrive
I can barely wait to see my first Sage Thrasher of the year warming up on a rock in front of the Great Salt Lake, scurrying along on the ground, perched on top of sage or rabbitbrush singing or displaying.
White Crowned Sparrows With And Without The Hand Of Humans
I try to take my bird photos with my subjects in natural settings and I spend a lot of time out in nature to do that but I'm realizing I need to include the "hand of mhumans" in my bird photos too because some species fit into the urban environment as easily as they do out in more natural areas.
Resting Canada Goose Close Up In Salt Lake County
Yesterday while photographing the birds at my local pond this resting Canada Goose caught my eye because of the bright blue water behind it and the great view I had of the eye of the goose while it had its bill tucked under its feathers.
Black-billed Magpie On The Wing – Sideways
This Black-billed Magpie had been perched on the top of a leafless greasewood when it lifted off from it and flew almost directly towards me with its body and wings turned sideways in flight.
Turkey Vulture Perched On An Orange Post – Why is that Fence Post Orange?
When I photographed this adult Turkey Vulture in northern Utah last year it wasn't alone, there were several other vultures roosting near it that morning on fence posts and a locked gate and I took a lot of images of all of them.
Swainson’s Hawks Heading Our Way
These two Swainson's Hawk photos were taken in May of last year up in northern Utah from inside a vehicle being used as a mobile blind and both were photographed from the side of a road where they had become accustomed to traffic going by so they weren't skittish at all.
California Gull Blur in a Snow Storm
This California Gull blur in a snow storm was one of those blurs that happened because of slow shutter speeds and low light but I found that I liked the resulting photo and will call it a happy accident.
Spread-eagle Red-winged Blackbird at Fort De Soto County Park
In Florida I most often photographed Red-winged Blackbirds at north beach of Fort De Soto County Park where I could reliably find them in the sand dunes, sea oats, spartina and mangroves all year long.
Drake Redhead Flapping His Wings On a February Afternoon
I've been seeing Redheads at my local pond over the winter but most of the time they have stayed on the other side of the pond so having this one up a bit closer and flapping his wings was a delight.
Greater Sage-Grouse on a Lek – Our Public Lands – Our Legacy
One might ask what do Greater Sage-Grouse have to do with our public lands and the answer would be that more than half of all remaining habit for these large upland game birds is on our public lands in the Western U.S..
Five Canada Geese in a February Snow Storm
When some Canada Geese started swimming towards me I took a burst of photos hoping to get a at least one image where snow wasn't blocking the view of the eye of the goose in the front.
Canada Goose Coming in for a Landing and Putting on the Brakes
Canada Geese can look a little goofy when they are landing because they often use their wings, tails and even their feet as brakes to slow themselves down right before they land.
With Midges Emerging Will Swallows Arrive Soon?
That one midge I saw in the restroom at Bear River MBR did cause me to wonder if the swallows will show up early this year in northern Utah or will the predicted cooler weather cause them arrive at their normal time.
Farmington Bay Ring-billed Gull Immediately After Bathing
As much as I like the first photo where the Ring-billed Gull has its wings spread and its feet still in the water I like the second photo even more because of the action and how the bird is suspended over the water.
Black-bellied Plover Bathing In A Tidal Lagoon On The Gulf Coast
After taking the quick bath in the tidal lagoon the Black-bellied Plover flew off towards the shoreline of the lagoon to shake and fluff its feathers until they were dry.
Great Horned Owl at Nest Box – Human Made Nests Are Helping Birds
Human made nest boxes, nest baskets, birdhouses, nest shelves and nest platforms can and do help many species of birds in all types of habitats.
American Crows at Farmington Bay WMA
Yesterday the American Crows hung around with the Bald Eagles, Herring, California and Ring-billed Gulls to feast on those invasive fish which gave me an opportunity to photograph this one standing on a dead carp.
Growing Tired of the Winter That Wasn’t & Looking Forward To Spring
When I look up at the tops of the Wasatch, Oquirrh, Stansbury and Promontory mountain ranges and they look more like late April or May than they do on a normal winter because there is just so little snow up there.
Rough-legged Hawk Lift Off At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
The Rough-legged Hawk's wings were fully extended above its body while its feet were still firmly planted on the ground and with one downward swoop of its long wings it was airborne right after this was photo was created.
Dancing Wilson’s Plover – Or At Least It Looks That Way
On a May morning in 2008 while photographing this Wilson's Plover it began to scratch itself with its foot and when I took this photo it looked like the plover was dancing.
Drake Redhead Courtship Display
I'm glad that I made the trip down to the pond because I was able to photograph a drake Redhead exhibiting courtship display behavior several times as he tried to impress the hen that was nearby.
Photographing the Tundra Swans of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
I had a blast photographing the Tundra Swans at the refuge yesterday and for the first time in a while I forgot about practically everything but the birds in front of me and the peace I find at the refuge.
Drake Common Goldeneye Courtship Display in Low Light
Because I had noticed the Common Goldeneye drake's behavior I was able to photograph him as he assumed the Head-throw posture.
Yellow-bellied Marmots on Groundhog Day
Punxsutawney Phil can have the spotlight today, our Yellow-bellied Marmots will have their time in the sun soon enough.
Golden Eagle soaring over the Great Salt Lake
Three years ago today I found and photographed a Golden Eagle that was soaring along the east side of Antelope Island over the Great Salt Lake.
Foraging Semipalmated Plover in Florida
Among my favorite plovers to photograph when I lived in Florida were Semipalmated Plovers, I only saw them during their nonbreeding season where they spent time along the Gulf coast.
American Goldfinch in Winter Plumage
I photographed a couple of American Goldfinches that morning too, as usual I heard the finches well before I spotted them foraging in some vegetation next to the auto tour route.