Piping Plovers
Piping Plovers are small, sparrow sized shorebirds that are endangered and threatened in most of their range primarily due to human disturbance on their nesting grounds.
Piping Plovers are small, sparrow sized shorebirds that are endangered and threatened in most of their range primarily due to human disturbance on their nesting grounds.
Yesterday a family of Loggerhead Shrikes kept us busy for a bit as the juveniles begged the adults to feed them and the adults were hunting food to bring to the rather noisy youngsters on Antelope Island State Park.
I was digging through my image files yesterday and came across a series of Tricolored Heron images that I had never edited from a May morning in 2009 when I was photographing birds at Fort De Soto's north beach.
I saw several Tyrant Flycatchers on my last trip to Montana, Eastern and Western Kingbirds and a couple of Western Wood-Pewees that were hawking from fence posts and barbed wire along a gravel road.
I was thrilled to spot this male Black-headed Grosbeak foraging in this flowering shrub while I was in Montana last week.
I've just returned from spending six wonderful days photographing in western Montana, the weather was lovely, the scenery spectacular and the birds; as usual, were awesome including these two Swainson's Hawks.
Stay tuned ... For more images from my Montana trip, it was awesome.
Summertime is upon us now and with it comes loads of people participating in outdoor activities like hiking, sports, camping and activities on the water. Everyone looks forward to warmer weather after winter but some of those activities can impact birds and wildlife.
Sometimes I take the shot despite knowing that I am not shooting in optimal conditions, most of the time the results are awful but once in awhile I actually enjoy the final image.
Brewer's Sparrows were abundant at the location where I photographed Ospreys close to the Flaming Gorge Reservoir last week and it seemed like they sang every time they popped up on top of the Sagebrush in the area.
Last week; while fighting off a bloodsucking cloud of no-see-ums, I was able to photograph this male Long-billed Curlew as it flew past me.
Royals Terns make amazing dive bombs for their prey which are usually small baitfish running close to the surface and sometimes if you are lucky you get to see them "Tern Over" in mid air.
This Snowy Egret was photographed as it stood in the shallow water of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach one early August morning in 2007.
I wanted to share a sampler of bird images that I have taken over the past week in Davis and Box Elder Counties.
Two days ago I spotted this Chukar on Antelope Island State Park on the edge of the road near the marina, the Chukar was at road level but just beyond the rock there is a slope that drops about 25 to 30 feet.
I've posted about Thinking Pink and Shades of Blue so today I thought I'd share some images about Goin' Green.
I wanted to share these images because today is Earth Day.
Great Horned Owls and Horned Larks are species of birds that have tufts that I photograph regularly here in Utah.
I wanted to share a few more of the Mountain Plover images I took which are a lifer bird for me as well as being rare in Utah.
What I saw through my lens was a Mountain Plover, a bird I have long dreamed of seeing. A rarity here in Utah.
I'm not sure why I wanted to do a post using images with pinks but here they are, a flower, a bird and pink kissed clouds.
Who knew that one day my photos would be in a book published by National Geographic? I am truly honored.
I photographed this male Long-billed Curlew last week as he was starting to lift off.
From the plumage pattern, the bill, shape of the bird, colors and the bright red eye ring I was able to ID this fine feathered friend as the world's first Brown Cowbird x Painted Bunting hybrid ever!!
When we stopped at one of the parking lots that overlooked Bridger Bay I heard a call that made me jump in my seat and before I could say "Long-billed Curlew!!" I could see the bird flying towards the grasses.
In case you hadn't noticed, scraper sites like these tick me off. Our images are copyrighted the moment we take them and they are not to be used without our permission or authorization.
Last week I spotted my first Burrowing Owl of the year, it was a distance away and I didn't take any images of it but I had to do a wiggle dance in my seat because I was excited seeing one again.
Some times there is one bird that makes (or perhaps saves) a day, yesterday it was this Chukar for me. I can say I didn't get skunked!
I photographed this male Horned Lark just two days ago and I'm tickled that I can see new growth of grasses in the frame.
People are fascinated by owls, I know I am. It might be that owls have forward facing eyes like this Great Horned Owlet. Those eyes truly draw a person in.