desert

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.

Say’s Phoebe – A Bird I Listen For In March

By |2021-03-09T06:40:34-06:00March 9th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Say's Phoebes, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The calls of a Say's Phoebe are among the sounds I listen for in March and they are the first members of the tyrant flycatcher family I see each year in northern Utah.

Yellow-bellied Marmot That Should Be Hibernating

By |2022-01-16T03:51:17-06:00February 8th, 2021|Categories: Box Elder County, Utah, Wildlife, Yellow-bellied Marmots|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Yellow-bellied Marmot in these photos should be hibernating until mid-March. I spotted it wide awake yesterday on a rocky slope in northern Utah.

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.

Male, Female, and Immature Horned Lark Photos

By |2021-04-03T06:06:58-05:00February 5th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Horned Larks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

After photographing this male Horned Lark on Antelope Island three days ago I decided to share a photo of him plus female and immature larks in a single post.

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.

Male American Kestrel Chest Plumage Variation

By |2024-01-15T10:12:54-06:00January 24th, 2021|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two recent posts on Facebook inspired me to write about male American Kestrel chest plumage variation and to share six images of male kestrels photographed here in Utah.

A Cook’s Memorial? Odd Things I Find While Looking For Birds

By |2021-01-19T06:03:13-06:00January 19th, 2021|Categories: Miscellaneous, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As best as I can figure out what is in this photo is a cook's memorial that I found 7 years ago today out on a range in Utah's West Desert.

First Winter Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By |2021-09-23T08:56:59-05:00December 16th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two years and one day ago I only photographed two birds on a trip out into the West Desert and this light morph Ferruginous Hawk made the trip well worth the journey out into the cold.

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.

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.

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.

Dark-eyed Junco And Rabbitbrush

By |2021-02-20T09:19:14-06:00October 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Dark-eyed Juncos, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One of the Dark-eyed Juncos that I had in my viewfinder was perched on top of a rabbitbrush with seeds and fluff in its bill that turned its head towards me.

Autumn Pine Siskins – 2020 Is An Irruption Year

By |2023-10-17T20:22:40-05:00October 18th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Pine Siskins, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

My Facebook timeline is buzzing with people posting photos of large numbers of Pine Siskins at their bird feeders across the country.

Barbed Wire Death Trap – Western Meadowlark

By |2024-02-18T06:31:58-06:00October 15th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Over the past month I thought about whether I wanted to share images and tell the story of this Western Meadowlark that lost its life because of a barbed wire death trap and finally decided that the story needed to be told.

Foraging Autumn Bushtits In Northern Utah

By |2024-04-04T16:14:38-05:00October 14th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Bushtits, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Seeing and photographing the Bushtits in northern Utah was a gift that I didn't expect yesterday and I am grateful to finally have images of them that I like.

West Desert Ferruginous Hawks – Light And Dark Morphs

By |2021-09-22T15:48:56-05:00October 12th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The past couple of weeks on some of my journeys to the West Desert of Utah I have been able to have a few long distance views of Ferruginous Hawks and that has me excited.

Adult White-crowned Sparrow Perched On A Stump

By |2022-06-06T03:48:32-05:00October 10th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This is a really simple photo with three features, the White-crowned Sparrow, the stump, and a very dark background.

Kinglets And Turkeys Plus One Scrub-Jay

By |2023-01-11T17:41:55-06:00October 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Wild Turkeys and the Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay made the very bumpy and extremely dusty ride into the mountain canyons well worth taking.

Mule Deer Does Crossing A Gravel Road In The West Desert

By |2024-03-16T03:54:39-05:00October 5th, 2020|Categories: Mule Deer, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week I found a small herd of does and fawns on a gravel road that leads to the foothills and mountain canyons of the Stansbury Mountains that hung around long enough to be photographed.

Young White-crowned Sparrow Portrait – Peeking Out Of Junipers

By |2024-02-26T05:19:32-06:00October 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I didn't get the photos I wanted of the sparrows perched on the rabbitbrush but I like this portrait of the young White-crowned Sparrow in front of it just as well.

Desert Cottontail Portraits

By |2021-01-04T10:32:22-06:00October 3rd, 2020|Categories: Desert Cottontails, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last month when I spotted a Desert Cottontail in the mountains of the West Desert I knew I wanted to take photos of the rabbit especially since it was so close that I could take portraits of it.

Surprise Immature Osprey In The West Desert Of Utah

By |2023-03-27T07:13:44-05:00October 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ospreys, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I don't know how many times I have said "expect the unexpected" since I began photographing birds while talking to fellow photographers.

Autumn Wild Turkey Close Up Photos

By |2024-03-21T12:15:32-05:00September 30th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

There were a few times when the Wild Turkeys stood upright and looked right at me as I photographed them and I took full advantage of the opportunity to take portraits of the large birds.

Rock Squirrel Close Up In A Fragrant Sumac Shrub

By |2023-04-11T04:53:09-05:00September 28th, 2020|Categories: Rock Squirrels, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Rock Squirrel was grasping a sumac branch and the shrub was so close to me I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to focus on it.

Adult Red-tailed Hawk With A Snake In The West Desert

By |2021-05-31T07:09:42-05:00September 27th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I noticed immediately that the Red-tailed Hawk was on prey because I saw it tearing into something despite the grasses that were partially obstructing my view.

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