I'm always glad to see and photograph Wild Turkeys and most of the time I see them more than I can photograph them because they are often too far away but some days it does work out that I can have them in my viewfinder and click the shutter release.
Yesterday I photographed a small covey of California Quail, this the second time this month that I have seen and photographed these small upland game birds that have wiggly, little head plumes.
So it wasn't a great morning but it wasn't all that bad either because I was able to focus on a Short-eared Owl, Brewer's Blackbirds and one curious Long-tailed Weasel.
These autumn Turkey Vulture portraits are among the most difficult images I have ever taken because I was holding my breath and retching while I took them due to the awful odor of a road-killed skunk below the bird.
I've shared photographs of Warbling Vireos here before but this is the first time that I am sharing photos of Plumbeous Vireos, these images were taken earlier this month in the Wasatch Mountains.
I've been spotting more and more Yellow-rumped Warblers over the past 10 to 14 days and I am excited because I have been expecting them to start showing up in my viewfinder.
It isn't often that I am able to get close enough to a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay that my only option is to take closeup portraits of them yet that is precisely what happened to me two days ago.
I know, I could grumble about not being able to photograph the young Cooper's Hawk taking its prey down just feet away from my Jeep but you know what? Being there to see nature in action was enough for me.
On Sunday I was up in Box Elder County looking for birds but I also felt I had to stop and take some images of Rocky Mountain Bee Plants that were blooming along side the road.
I'd driven up into a Wasatch Mountain canyon and was waiting for the sun to rise over the mountains when I spotted several juvenile Barn Swallows perched on a fence right next to the road in lovely morning light.
I am always glad when a bird unexpectedly flies in so that I can take close up photos because close ups show so much fine detail in their plumage and that is what happened earlier this week with a Pine Siskin.
Who knew that Downy Woodpeckers have eyes the color of a fine Cognac? I didn't until I took this Downy Woodpecker close up in the Wasatch Mountains one month ago.
This first winter Common Goldeneye drake had no issues with getting close to me as I photographed it on a chilly December afternoon.
Yesterday I had fun and frustration while photographing Yellow Warblers feeding their fledglings up in a Wasatch Mountain canyon, fun because it is always great to see them and frustration because of the setting they were in combined with a breeze.
Spending time photographing Yellow Warblers can try the patience of even the most patient photographer because they are so flighty, small and move quickly but it can also be rewarding when you get photos that you like.
After a bit the female Mountain Bluebird did something surprising... She flew in so close that I could only take close ups of her as she appeared to forage at the edge of the dirt road.
I spotted a flash of black, white and red as a bird landed in the aspen tree that was closest to me above where the wrens and swallows are nesting and realized that a male Red-naped Sapsucker had flown in and was foraging for food in the buds of the aspen.
Three days ago there was some Mountain Goldenbanner blooming next to a creek in the canyons of the Wasatch Mountains and I simply had to take some photos of these bright yellow wildflowers.
I laughed again when I saw this photo on my camera LCD, the Moose was reaching to grab more willow leaves but was also keeping an eye on me in the mobile blind while his "beard" swung like the clapper of a bell.
I had a blast photographing these baby Uinta Ground Squirrels and sharing them with my Mom. It was a peaceful, relaxing morning filled with birds, squirrels, lovely scenery and great company.
Green-tailed Towhees are migratory so I don't see them year round in Utah like I do their close relatives the Spotted Towhees. Green-tailed Towhees spend their winters in the southern most parts of the U.S. and in Mexico and I miss seeing a hearing them while they are away.
The Loggerhead Shrike did fly in and brought prey to feed the presumed female, during the mating season the males will allofeed the females as part of their courtship behavior. I've never been able to photograph allofeeding behavior before so I was tickled pink.
Just about one year ago I was thrilled to photograph a very cooperative dark morph Swainson's Hawk that is possibly the darkest, dark morph I have ever seen.
When the third Turkey Vulture lifted off I expected it to go north like the other two vultures had but instead it flew south and very close to where I was at the side of the road in a vehicle being used as a mobile blind, almost too close.
The most fun I had yesterday wasn't photographing my feathered friends instead it was while I photographed a female Yellow-bellied Marmot and her five delightful pups.
My friends Amy and Bruce Barker saw a Western Grebe at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge a few days ago and that has gotten me excited, I always miss the grebes during the winter.
Yesterday while photographing the birds at my local pond this resting Canada Goose caught my eye because of the bright blue water behind it and the great view I had of the eye of the goose while it had its bill tucked under its feathers.
My entire focus was on the calm Great Blue Heron in front of me and I felt as relaxed as the heron appeared to be that morning.
Punxsutawney Phil can have the spotlight today, our Yellow-bellied Marmots will have their time in the sun soon enough.
Two days ago this California Gull flew in and was so close to me that I felt I had to take portraits of it because the gull looked so handsome against the blue of the water.