American White Pelican Lifting Off
This American White Pelican was taking off from a pond near where I live in Salt Lake County and I happened to click the shutter when its wings were extended upwards and when its feet had just slapped the water
Dark Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk On The Wing
Quite often I don't have much time at all to get ready to take images because you need to get close to the subject, find a good angle of light and make sure your camera settings will produce the best image for the conditions.
Snowy Egret with muddy legs
This adult Snowy Egret with muddy legs that were so dirty it covered up its "Golden Slippers".
American Barn Owl Butt Shots
I know, I don't have eye contact from my subject which is one of the unspoken rules in bird and wildlife photography but I don't mind bending those rules when it comes to images that I find interesting or appealing.
The Eagle Is Landing
It has been quite some time since I posted a Bald Eagle here so today I present this adult in a landing pose that I photographed in February of 2011 at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
Red-tailed Hawk Juveniles On The Wing
One of the Red-tailed Hawk juveniles 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 billboard for a yacht company.
Pretty in Pink – Black-chinned Hummingbird
Well, I made it through another week. Bird photography has been slow down here in the valley but there are signs migration is picking up. There was a decided nip to the air yesterday morning and I saw some frost on the ground while heading towards Antelope Island.
The Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk That Saved My Day
Yesterday was frustrating for me near Snowville, Utah because there were raptors all around but not many of them were close enough to photograph and the ones that were close were either vey skittish or wouldn't fly off of the power poles even after long periods of time.
Landing Black Skimmer
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.
Female Black-chinned Hummingbird
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.
More Calliope Hummingbird Images
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.
Calliope Hummingbirds
I believe these are Calliope Hummingbirds but if I am wrong please do not hesitate to correct me, I don't get upset about things like that.
Frustrations in Bird Photography – Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk
The dark morph Ferruginous Hawk above had just lifted off from a power pole when I photographed it with a partly cloudy sky in the background.
Whooo Loves Owls?
I love the Barn Owl's deep-set, dark and mysterious eyes, the silent way that they glide past, their monkey like face plus their beautiful colors and patterns.
What Is The Last Thing A Jackrabbit Might See – A Ferruginous Hawk
Ferruginous Hawks west of the Continental Divide prefer rabbits as prey so what you see here might be the last thing a Cottontail or Jackrabbit might see.
Ragged Red-tailed Hawk In Molt
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.
Nine Foot Wingspans – American White Pelicans
Yesterday while on the auto tour route of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge the birds that I saw in the highest numbers were American White Pelicans.
Two different Swainson’s Hawks
Red-tailed Hawks have the most variable plumages of North American hawks but Swainson's Hawks are also pretty variable, there are light morphs, intermediate morphs and dark morphs.
Simple Red-tailed Hawk photo from Montana
This adult Red-tailed flew by at close range which gave me a very nice view of the underside of its wing that shows it was also molting though it didn't look as raggedy as some of the other adult Red-tailed Hawks looked.
Swainson’s Hawk in flight over Beaverhead County, Montana
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.
If Only I Could Fly Like This Red-tailed Hawk!
I readily admit that sometimes I daydream about being able to fly like a bird and quite often the bird I wish I were is a Red-tailed Hawk.
Black-crowned Night Heron at Bear River MBR
I spotted this Black-crowned Night Heron that was almost hidden by the vegetation but as soon as we stopped it darted towards some open water in foraging mode.
Ferruginous Hawk Pano
I love the raised wings of the Ferruginous Hawk, the bright blue sky with just a hint of clouds and the regal raptor soaring above me and the Stansbury Mountains in Tooele County, Utah
Adult Red-tailed Hawk In A Montana Sky
There are issues with this image which I will cover shortly but I really liked the pose of this Red-tailed Hawk, the spread of the wings, the flared tail and the great eye contact I was able to capture as the Red-tail looked down towards me as it flew in a bright blue Montana sky.
Red-tailed Hawks – Buteo Jamaicensis
Buteos are medium to large hawks with broad wings, wide bodies and short tails that soar in wide lazy circles and most often hunt from a high perch from which they drop down to their prey.
Hovering American Kestrel Male In Utah
Hovering Kestrel shots aren't easy to capture without baiting or using decoys, part of that is because I can't tell when a kestrel might get it in its mind to hover for prey, the other part is being in the right place at the right time.
Eastern Willet in flight at Fort De Soto
There are two subspecies of Willets which Western and Eastern, here in Utah I only see the Western subspecies but in Florida I could see both during the course of a year.
Western Meadowlark In Flight
This Western Meadowlark lifted off from a Sagebrush and I was able to track it and capture this image as soon as it was airborne. I've found it difficult to get images of Western Meadowlarks in flight because they move so quickly.
Immature Red-tailed Hawk In Really Bad Light
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.
Ospreys of Flaming Gorge
Last year at about this same time these Ospreys were busy building their nest while this year they were already sitting on eggs at Flaming Gorge.