birds of prey

Mated Red-tailed Hawk Pair

By |2021-03-22T05:33:30-05:00March 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week I spotted and photographed a mated Red-tailed Hawk pair on the branches of a tree in front of a cliff in early morning light.

It Is Red-tailed Hawk Nesting Season

By |2022-04-27T07:40:31-05:00March 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Red-tailed Hawk nesting season has started in northern Utah and I found a few pairs yesterday morning that have already gotten busy with nest building.

Signs Of Spring – First Turkey Vulture Sighting Report

By |2021-03-12T05:49:28-06:00March 12th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday afternoon I received an email from the UBird Google group with a first of the year Turkey Vulture sighting and that got me excited. 

West Desert Male Rough-legged Hawk

By |2022-04-20T21:21:32-05:00March 3rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning  was clear, bright, chilly, and I spent ten minutes photographing an adult male Rough-legged Hawk that I found in the West Desert.

Male Rough-legged Hawk Photos

By |2022-04-20T21:21:48-05:00February 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Earlier this week I photographed a light morph, adult male Rough-legged Hawk in the West Desert of Utah with three different backgrounds.

Ferruginous And Rough-legged Hawk Lift Off Photos

By |2022-04-20T21:22:12-05:00February 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning I was able to take Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawk lift off photos where both of the raptors still had their feet on their perches.

High Key Immature Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By |2021-02-19T06:22:17-06:00February 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today I am sharing two high key type images of an immature Red-tailed Hawk I photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.

Immature Male Northern Harrier Flying Over A Wintry Marsh

By |2021-02-14T06:17:39-06:00February 14th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This immature male Northern Harrier photo shows the hawk small in the frame with wintry marsh habitat behind and below it.

Golden Eagle Flying Over A Hill On Antelope Island

By |2023-11-12T09:36:18-06:00February 9th, 2021|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has been a couple of years since I have found a Golden Eagle on Antelope Island so when I spotted an adult on a grassy hill yesterday I was excited.

It’s Superb Owl Sunday!

By |2021-02-07T05:22:33-06:00February 7th, 2021|Categories: Barn Owls, Birds, Great Horned Owls, Short-eared Owls|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is Superb Owl Sunday so I wanted to share four of the owls that I see most frequently. Barn, Burrowing, Great Horned and Short-eared Owls are the owls that I photograph most often here in northern Utah.

Rufous Red-tailed Hawk Female Memories

By |2021-01-28T06:21:20-06:00January 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I wanted to share a few photos of a stunning rufous Red-tailed Hawk female that I photographed over a period of a couple of years.

Urban Raptor Photography

By |2024-03-16T11:30:01-05:00January 17th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I first moved to Utah in 2009 I never expected to be able to do urban raptor photography from my living room window.

Photographing Winter Birds

By |2024-03-13T06:24:03-05:00January 15th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Bald Eagles, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Canvasbacks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.

Five Bird Photos From Christmas Day 2020

By |2020-12-26T07:05:35-06:00December 26th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Much to my delight I was able to photograph some birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.

Hunting Barn Owl In Flight Over The Frozen Marsh At Farmington Bay WMA

By |2021-07-08T16:00:10-05:00December 20th, 2020|Categories: Barn Owls, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

During the winter there are times I am able to photograph Barn Owls in flight during the day when the snow is deep and the temps are bitter cold.

Female American Kestrel With Her Prey

By |2021-03-10T08:06:38-06:00December 11th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Three days ago I had one minute with a beautiful adult female American Kestrel and her partially eaten prey at Farmington Bay WMA.

Photographing Bald Eagles At Farmington Bay WMA During An Inversion

By |2021-06-16T11:55:24-05:00December 10th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Think carefully before you make a trip to Utah to photograph our overwintering Bald Eagles in the valley. The inversions are awful and can be life threatening.

Focusing On A Gray Ghost – AKA Male Northern Harrier

By |2021-04-10T03:51:37-05:00December 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today I am focusing on an adult male Northern Harrier that I had in my viewfinder for a few seconds yesterday that was on the wing over the marsh.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk Harassed By A Northern Harrier

By |2021-05-03T03:29:28-05:00December 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it.

Frosty Female Northern Harrier In Flight

By |2021-04-10T03:57:39-05:00December 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I saw a few harriers on the wing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA and I was able to take a few photos of a female Northern Harrier that still had frost on her nape.

Photographing An Immature Ferruginous Hawk Hunting For Breakfast

By |2024-02-22T06:17:58-06:00November 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning not long after sunrise I spent some time photographing a light morph, immature Ferruginous Hawk hunting for its breakfast.

Focusing On Adult Male Rough-legged Hawks

By |2023-12-19T08:06:38-06:00November 27th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Ten days ago I found and photographed this adult male Rough-legged Hawk as it perched on a Russian Olive tree at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was heading home.

Cozy Red-tailed Hawks And Finches Galore

By |2023-03-23T07:14:58-05:00November 23rd, 2020|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Box Elder County, Pine Siskins, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning the first birds I spotted and photographed was a pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks side by side on a rocky ledge in early morning light.

Looking Back On Photographing A Rare Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk

By |2023-05-05T10:10:15-05:00November 16th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Leucistic, Rarities, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Even though it is now four years later I still look for this striking leucistic Red-tailed Hawk in Tooele County and hope to find and photograph it again one day.

Veterans Day 2020

By |2022-05-27T06:35:31-05:00November 11th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Veterans Day is always held on November 11th and is a day set aside to honor all of those who have served our country in war or peace.

Male Short-eared Owl Perched At The Edge Of A Sagebrush Sea

By |2021-04-02T04:23:44-05:00November 5th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I am always looking for Short-eared Owls in northern Utah because they are year round residents here but they are nomadic which means I don't always see them.

An Immature Light Morph Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By |2021-09-22T13:31:07-05:00November 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The highlight of my morning yesterday was when I spotted an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk perched on a cedar post in the West Desert.

Adult Female Northern Harrier On The Wing Over Farmington Bay WMA

By |2021-04-10T03:48:40-05:00November 3rd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has been too long since I have had a Northern Harrier in my viewfinder although I'm now excited because I know that fall and winter are great seasons for me to find and photograph them.

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