Eagle in de skies
Oh, I meant Eagle in disguise, a European Starling. Couldn't resist.
Oh, I meant Eagle in disguise, a European Starling. Couldn't resist.
Yesterday on the local news I saw that Governor Herbert offered to fund the reopening of Utah's five National Parks which are Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches and Capitol Reef.
Summer has changed to autumn and the behaviors of the Horned Larks that have been seen through the summer but have been difficult to get close to.
This domestic duck image has always made me laugh so I thought I would share it and ask you all to add your funny captions.
One of the juvenile Red-tailed Hawks I photographed on Antelope Island last year has "migrated" to Switzerland where my photo of it will be featured on a 5 x 15 meter sign for a yacht company.
I photographed this Snowy Plover one September morning in Florida and it was actually cool that day... for Florida.
This Black-bellied Plover was standing on a dunelet that wasn't much higher than the sand around it that had sparse short grasses which I found appealing.
Black Skimmers are known by several nicknames which include scissorbills, knifebill and cut-water for how their bills slice through the water when they are hunting and how their bills snap shut on prey.
Red-necked Grebes are beautiful but wary subjects in the Centennial Valley. Some day I hope I will have images the show off their beauty in a much better way.
After looking at these images that I took last Friday I am wondering if this hummingbird that I photographed is a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird.
Yesterday I went back to the island to see if I could photograph more hummingbirds and they did not disappoint so I thought I would share two more images of them.
One December morning in 2008 I was sitting in the sand at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in Florida when a Great Blue Heron came up and perched on a driftwood stump that had washed up onto the shore.
Last month while up in Montana I saw this young Red-tailed Hawk just standing in the road looking around and not acting the least bit concerned about the pickup or the two large lens that were pointed at it.
When I did my post the other day on "Missing Fort De Soto" I found this Black Skimmer image in my archives while looking for photos to put in that post and wanted to share it.
American Coots aren't thought of as "gorgeous" birds but I do find them appealing and a challenge to expose properly because of the high contrast between the very dark feathers and the whiteness of the ivory colored bill.
Many of the adult Red-tailed Hawks that I saw and photographed in southwestern Montana on my last trip had worn feathers and were molting.
I photographed the adult Swainson's Hawk above after it had lifted off from a power pole in Beaverhead County and loved that I had thin clouds in the background which is far more pleasing to my eye than plain blue sky.
Laughing Gulls are quite noisy when they are in a flock but I never minded listening to them, in fact they often made me laugh.
I was able to photograph this Barn Swallow on Antelope Island yesterday as it rested on a rock and as I took images the swallow opened its bill for a few frames.
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.