Longing for Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
It is raining here in the valley this morning and snow is falling in the high country in the middle of June so I am sitting here dreaming of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
It is raining here in the valley this morning and snow is falling in the high country in the middle of June so I am sitting here dreaming of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
The nicknames for Short-eared Owls are many and include Evening Owl, Mouse-hawk, Marsh Owl, Bog Owl and Flat-faced Owl but I just call them Shorties in the field.
Western Kingbird After several days of not being able to photograph birds because of bad weather I was pleasantly surprised to have a medley of birds to photograph on Antelope Island Monday.
In the fall of 2011 I enjoyed being able to photograph this first year Prairie Falcon several times close to the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
There are times in my life when I feel speechless in the face of the natural world.
I have always liked this American Kestrel image because of the pose and how the female kestrel appears to be peeking at me while she preened.
Last month while camping near Capitol Reef National Park I was delighted to find a Peregrine Falcon feeding on prey near some Sandhill Cranes in a field that I had been photographing.
Most of the time the birds and animals I photograph look majestic, elegant or their poses convey action but some times they look just plain goofy.
The term "Banking" in my title doesn't mean this female American Kestrel is heading to the closest ATM or to a local branch of Wells Fargo because this little beauty doesn't care one cent about money!
American Kestrels are fascinating falcons, they are tiny, colorful and at times quite pugnacious.
Yesterday I was able to see and photograph a pair of Red-tailed Hawks courting and copulating in Tooele County, Utah.
In the four and a half years I have been in Utah I have found, pointed out, and photographed four escaped falconry birds, one in 2009, and two in 2012.
Two years ago I could often find Northern Harriers hunting along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park and I photographed a series of images of this female Northern Harrier on February 16th of that year.
Just a simple Red-tailed Hawk in flight image that I took early last week in Cedar Valley on a bright, clear day.
One year ago today the sky was cloudy, the fog was thick and the snow was blowing in northern Utah. I couldn't see the tops of the mountains or across the Great Salt Lake but I did spot this Short-eared Owl perched on a snow-covered bush on the causeway my way to Antelope Island.
One great bird can make a day or even an entire trip worthwhile and this particular Red-tailed Hawk photographed in Utah County has made two days wonderful so far.
Today I have just a few images of a Red-tailed Hawk I spotted yesterday on a power pole in Utah County near the southern part of the Oquirrh Mountain Range.
Both images are appealing to me because I enjoy the foggy softness of the female Short-eared Owl image and the warm, golden tones of the male Short-eared Owl photo.
But for me the "Snow Birds" I have grown to love here in Utah are Rough-legged Hawks who only visit in the winter and spend the rest of their lives breeding in high subarctic and Arctic regions.
One of the birds I photographed yesterday was this handsome Red-tailed Hawk that I spotted in a tree at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
This Red-shouldered Hawk photo was taken in Florida in November of 2008 just after the hawk lifted off from an old snag near a Great Blue Heron I had been photographing.
I was going to do a post about a Bald Eagle this morning but at the last minute had a change of mind and decided to work up this male American Kestrel that I photographed resting near the shore of the Great Salt Lake.
In the winter I shoot a lot in fog, smog and low light conditions here in northern Utah but if you follow my blog you probably already know that and have heard me mention it a time or two (or four or a hundred).
Two years ago I photographed this male Short-eared Owl in Glacier County, Montana on a fence post on the perimeter of some CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) land on an August evening.
I have had so many opportunities with Golden Eagles and each time something goes wrong.
Rough-legged Hawks are among my favorites of the raptors that over winter in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah because I only see them at this time of the year while they wait to head back to the subarctic and Arctic to breed.
Last week I did a post on the many nicknames used for Barn Owls and among them was "Ghost Owl" and for some reason when I first looked at this frame I thought the blurred wings did make it look "ghostly".
I spotted this beautiful American Barn Owl on a snow bank yesterday along the side of a dirt road at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area in northern Utah.
This Red-tailed Hawk image was taken just after the juvenile lifted off from the nest box and while I love the pose I do wish the light had been a bit better.
Patience is absolutely a must for bird photographers and it doesn't hurt to throw a little crazy in the mix too. Spending two hours in freezing temps to photograph a bird might be a little crazy.