An Immature Sage Thrasher On A September Morning
The Sage Thrashers on Antelope Island State Park are busy getting ready for migration and the thrashers hatched this year appear to be almost ready to go.
The Sage Thrashers on Antelope Island State Park are busy getting ready for migration and the thrashers hatched this year appear to be almost ready to go.
I spent about three months in 2008 watching a Great Horned Owl nest on Honeymoon Island State Park in Florida from hatching until this young owl fledged.
There were plenty of Western Grebes to be seen and photographed yesterday morning at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge and I took tons of images of them.
Every time I look at this tern image I laugh because my mind sees a tiny starfish stuck on the birds face that is actually its bill.
Late last month I photographed a Western Kingbird family in Box Elder County where the juveniles kept begging for food from the adult.
I wanted to post an image of a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird today because despite their bad reputations as brood parasites they are native birds that I think are worth pointing my lens at.
In my post yesterday I mentioned that the Snowy Egrets that I photographed at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge were avoiding a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron, this is that heron.
I created this juvenile Swainson's Hawk image two days ago before the sun rose over the mountains and I liked how it turned out despite the low light.
If the Bear River is dammed upstream I have to wonder if we will see history repeating itself but made even worse by climate change, reduced snow pack and rising temperatures and how that will impact the refuge.
The Sandhill Crane colts at Farmington Bay are as tall as their parents and look just like them except for the markings on their head and the color of their bills and eyes.
After a rainy summer day there were puddles on the dirt roads of Antelope Island State Park and this juvenile Loggerhead Shrike took advantage of a puddle and bathed.
The young Burrowing Owls I have been following and photographing are growing up but many of them still stay close to the burrows they hatched in.
I am seeing more and more Wilson's Phalaropes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the majority of the birds I see are hatch year birds.
So even though I didn't come home with many Burrowing Owls images yesterday these Western Kingbird images more than made up for it!
I don't often have the opportunity to photograph young Lark Sparrows so I jumped at the chance last Saturday when I saw this one on Antelope Island State Park.
Bear River National Wildlife Refuge was lovely yesterday morning and one of the nice surprises I found was this juvenile Wilson's Phalarope on the west side of the auto tour route.
I went wandering in the West Desert of Utah yesterday because the views are always great and because I hoped to find a few birds.
I think I could photograph juvenile Burrowing Owls for two months straight and not get bored with them.
Antelope Island State Park is full of juvenile Loggerhead Shrikes right now so it looks like the shrikes had a very successful nesting season.
Leopards don't change their spots but juvenile Burrowing Owls do change their spots on their chests as they mature.
When I looked at this Burrowing Owl image on my monitor I had to chuckle because in a strange way it reminded me of myself when I first dove off of a 10 meter platform and how my toes were the last to let go.
I thought I would share some images I have taken of Western Burrowing Owls that I took over several days spent with them in Box Elder County, Utah.
Last week I posted an image of Burrowing Owl siblings that I found in northern Utah and today I am posting images of that burrow after spending yesterday morning being delighted by them once more.
On the 20th of May I saw my first of the year Loggerhead Shrike fledglings but it wasn't until the 24th that I was able to photograph this young shrike.
I have already seen Sage Thrasher chicks on Antelope Island State Park and I suspect it won't be long before I see juvenile Western Meadowlarks learning how to fly and feed on their own.
For every Mom everywhere
Last week I saw my first of the season Swainson's Hawk not too far from the visitor's center at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge and that got me excited.
It has been five and a half years since I photographed American Oystercatchers at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida and oddly enough I still dream about these shorebirds.
This morning winter is trying to creep back into northern Utah but I am thinking of warmer weather, Montana and Great Horned Owls.
This morning I was looking through some images that I had taken in August of 2014 and came across this juvenile Western Kingbird photo that I hadn't touched at all.