Imagine Utah Without California Gulls
Ah, Mia, it is just a bird. No, it isn't just a bird. Because California Gulls aren't the only birds at risk of disappearing from the skies, shorelines and waters of Utah.
Ah, Mia, it is just a bird. No, it isn't just a bird. Because California Gulls aren't the only birds at risk of disappearing from the skies, shorelines and waters of Utah.
Three years ago today I found and photographed a Golden Eagle that was soaring along the east side of Antelope Island over the Great Salt Lake.
The juvenile and out of focus adult Mourning Doves were perched on a lichen encrusted, slightly frosted fence rail near the road in the southern part of the Centennial Valley.
One of my fondest memories for photographing Trumpeter Swans happened on an evening of September of 2015 in southwestern Montana.
This photo of a male Mountain Bluebird in Wayne County, Utah made me smile when I thought about the location where it was created because it is so wild and beautiful up there.
Watching a colorful sunset at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge fade to the darkness of night is a gift. A wonderful, priceless gift.
One of my favorite photo sessions of that trip last fall was an evening spent with the Trumpeter Swans of southwestern Montana in gorgeous evening light.
Killdeer chicks are precocial and active soon after hatching and will leave the nest as soon as their down dries.
Waking up and seeing the lake mist at the Lower Lake and an ephemeral pond near it with birds in the air, on the lake and feeding in the pond is amazing.
Nature is calling and I am answering her call. I am happy to be off on another new amazing adventure.
It is interesting to see this whirlpool effect of Northern Shovelers on the surface of the Great Salt Lake and to hear the sounds of their bills dabbling in the water.
This image shows a sunset at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge from September 9, 2015 but every sunrise and sunset on our national lands is a treasure.
The are times when I feel that the sunset paints the sky with vibrant colors and although the earth seems muted at twilight its still anchors me.
This American White Pelican image was taken on my first camping trip to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
In my last post on the Trumpeter Swan Cygnets On Elk Lake I mentioned that the cygnets spent a lot of time preening and part of the reason they do is they are molting.
My focus is usually birds and animals but as many of you know I also can't resist taking images of the beautiful views I see such as these two views of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge last week.
I am totally enamored by Trumpeter Swans, they are not only graceful and beautiful but the adults seem like such caring parents and keep an ever watchful eye on their young.
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.
The first bird I photographed on my recent trip to Idaho and Montana was a White-faced Ibis in full breeding plumage.
One of the locations I am daydreaming about is the Centennial Valley of Montana and the birds I find there.
Small populations of Trumpeter Swans were found in mountain valleys in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming and those birds are the reason we have Trumpeter Swans today.
Afternoon at Red Rock Lakes I took this image of the Lower Lake at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge while I was settled in at the campground, doing something I don’t always do enough of out in the field, just sitting still and taking it all in. There wasn’t any rush. No chasing light. No scanning nonstop for movement. Just a quiet stretch of time where the land and sky did all the work. The breeze moved through the grasses in front of me, soft and steady, carrying the sounds of birds nearby and from across the lake. I could hear them clearly, but they were scattered, not loud or chaotic. It felt balanced. Calm. The kind of moment where nothing needs to happen for it to be enough. Out over the water, the clouds were putting on their own show. Sunlight slipped in and out, lighting up sections of the hills and then letting them fall back into shadow. It changed by the minute, subtle but constant, like the whole scene was breathing. I remember thinking how easy [...]
Earlier this month while I was in Montana I spent time photographing some Savannah Sparrows at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
The amazing birds and animals keep me going back to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge but the scenery and wildness of the area does too.
It is raining here in the valley this morning and snow is falling in the high country in the middle of June so I am sitting here dreaming of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
I photographed this Osprey at Lettuce Lake Regional Park from the observation tower, the Osprey had tried to catch a fish but came up with just the filamentous algae in its talons.
I love to get images of the American Bison and the Great Salt Lake in the same frame especially if there are mountains in the background so I was happy to get the snow covered Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake in this image
In the meantime I am Limpkin along.
Last week I was photographing shorebirds and a Chukar eating Brine flies on the shore of the Great Salt Lake when this European Starling flew in and started to eat them too.
It won't be long before I start seeing juvenile Willets that are about the size of the one pictured here.