Is This American White Pelican Flying With Its Bill Full?
I just don't know but I do know I have never seen an American White Pelican in flight with its bill looking like this ever before and I have photographed them hundreds of times in flight.
I just don't know but I do know I have never seen an American White Pelican in flight with its bill looking like this ever before and I have photographed them hundreds of times in flight.
The juvenile and out of focus adult Mourning Doves were perched on a lichen encrusted, slightly frosted fence rail near the road in the southern part of the Centennial Valley.
I did take some nice Franklin's and Ring-billed Gull photos in flight over the water of the marshes at the refuge despite the smoky sky.
Right now these terns at the refuge are busy feeding their young although some of the juvenile Forster's Terns have already learned how to capture prey on their own.
I photographed this adult Red-tailed Hawk earlier this year in northern Utah as it perched on a lichen-covered rock surveying its world and thought I would share it today.
Vultures are fascinating birds and they are great for the environments around the globe that they are found in, we need to do more to help them today and every day.
Back in February there was still snow on the ground, ice on the water and Common Mergansers were at Farmington Bay WMA and some were sporting their breeding plumage.
I was delighted to be able to photograph a Gray Catbird in a willow thicket yesterday up in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains.
To me it looks like this American White Pelican was doing an impression of a floating, domestic white turkey because when the pelican was facing me nearly head on the length of pelican's long bill seemed to disappear
I don't often have the opportunity of taking photos of ducks that are flying straight at me while coming in for a landing which is exactly what this drake mallard did.
I photographed this Ring-billed Gull last November as it hovered over the autumn colored marsh and I really like the resulting photo. The pose, the light, the setting, the contrast in colors all work well for my tastes.
All summer long I have heard Willow Flycatchers up in some of the Wasatch Mountain Canyons but had been unable to capture quality images of them.
I did find one jewel in the images, a photo of one of the adult Red-naped Sapsuckers flying away from the nesting cavity looking like a bullet.
I saw my first juvenile Swainson's Hawk of the year last week and although it didn't give me any opportunities to take better images of it I was happy to see it perched on a power pole.
I loved taking photos of birds on those old fence posts like this male Short-eared Owl that was looking down to the ground for prey.
Thousands upon thousands of Black-necked Stilts make the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah their home during their breeding season.
Some Tundra Swans migrate from the arctic tundra using the Great Basin hub of the Pacific flyway and huge flocks of them spend the winter here.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was calling me yesterday morning and I answered that call and photographed several White-faced Ibis from the auto tour route.
I have my ears and my eyes to thank for finding the Yellow Warblers and their young foraging near a creek in a canyon.
I do not believe that this bird was one of the pair of adult Red-naped Sapsuckers I photographed feeding the chick in the nesting cavity, his bib and breast markings were different from the other adult birds.
While stopped at a gate at Red Rock lakes NWR a Tree Swallow flew in and landed on a fence post so close that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to focus on it but I had to try.
Some of the birds I see often while at the Lower Lake of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana are Savannah Sparrows and I love to photograph them there.
When I spotted two bull elk early in the morning in the sagebrush of the Centennial Valley on the 10th of July I was very excited and started taking photos as soon as I could.
I didn't have the good fortune to photograph another Cassin's Finch on my trip so I am glad I took the time to take photos of this one looking around his home in the Centennial Valley of Montana.
I can't resist photographing birds or wildlife up close so I swung my lens around and focused on the face of the Mule Deer and laughed out loud because she was covered in spiderwebs.
While I looked around four days ago I saw this Bank Swallow resting on a fence that hangs over the Red Rock River and could not resist photographing it with the blue water below and behind it.
I simply don't know what caused this kind of feather damage and I hope that someone can give me a better idea of what was going on with this Swainson's Hawk.
Although photographing the Red-naped Sapsuckers at the nesting cavity has been frustrating at times it has also been very rewarding to observe all the action of the sapsucker family.
Today's post is just a simple bird. A sky blue Mountain Bluebird perched on a rustic pine fence railing taken on a bright beautiful morning in the Centennial Valley of Montana.
Jackpot and frustrations... I'll explain the jackpot first and get to the frustrations later about the Targhee National Forest Red-naped Sapsucker feeding its young.