Adult Burrowing Owl About to Lift Off
I was photographing this adult hoping to get it on lift off and in flight but looked away from my viewfinder to check my exposure exactly at the time it did lift off so I missed the shots.
I was photographing this adult hoping to get it on lift off and in flight but looked away from my viewfinder to check my exposure exactly at the time it did lift off so I missed the shots.
I am not sure why the Red-tailed Hawk lifted off with nesting material in its bill from the nest, maybe the hawk felt that piece of nesting material wasn't suitable.
For weeks I have been seeing White-faced Ibis fly overs and yesterday I had my first opportunity to photograph them for the year at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Yesterday I found this Western Meadowlark take off photo that I took last year on Antelope Island State Park.
Last September I was able to observe and photograph a Merlin in southwestern Montana over a period of several days.
Watching and photographing the Tundra Swans lifting off from Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday was slightly bittersweet for me because I know they will soon be heading north to mate.
At the end of January there was a nice, clear morning at Farmington Bay WMA and I spotted a juvenile female Northern Harrier in a field of snow next to the road who was a cooperative subject.
The theme of my photo adventure yesterday seemed to be Barn Owls and spinning ice circles at Bear River MBR.
I am enjoying my time in the Centennial Valley especially when I can spend time photographing raptors like this adult light morph Swainson's Hawk.
I came across this image of a male Rough-legged Hawk taken this past February and it caused me to wonder what this upcoming winter will be like.
I am always happy to photograph Swainson's Hawks no matter where I find them so I was pleased to find this one perched on a lichen covered rock yesterday in Box Elder County, Utah.
The heat of summer has turned the green grasses brown on Antelope Island State Park so I thought I'd share some of the "brown birds" I photographed there yesterday.
This Red-tailed Hawk image was taken last week in the Centennial Valley of Montana just after the hawk lifted off from a power pole.
American Oystercatchers are one of my favorite shorebirds to photograph along the Gulf of Mexico because of their unusual appearance.
I had fun photographing Western Kingbirds again yesterday on Antelope Island State Park and hours later I was still hearing their calls in my mind.
To my delight the mechanical sounding calls of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds buzzed over the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning.
In January of 2009 I went to Myakka River State Park with three of my bird photography friends and the raptor highlight of the day was this Red-shouldered Hawk.
I spent part of my morning yesterday being serenaded by the calls of thousands of Tundra Swans at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah.
I think the 10 Lords A-leaping are hanging up their their shoes after this Western Meadowlark out leaped them!
Lately it has been wonderful to see and photograph more birds including raptors. I think the long dry spell that started the end of July might be over finally.
I never know what treasures I will find or if I will be taking wildlife, scenic or bird images but that is part of the fun.
American Kestrels are a challenge to photograph when they are in flight or lifting off because they move so quickly and in low light it can be even harder.
I never seem to get caught up processing all of my images but I picked this Calliope Hummingbird image to process and share this morning.
Some times when I am photographing I capture my subjects in funny poses and I think I did exactly that with this Mountain Bluebird female.
While in southwestern Montana last week I did see several Bald Eagles and this adult was most obliging as it perched on a conifer in the light of the rising sun.
Five days ago while on Antelope Island I photographed this Western Meadowlark as it sang on the stump of a dead Sagebrush.
One of two species of oystercatchers in North America the American Oystercatchers quickly stole my heart after I first saw them because of their colors, long bills, pink legs and their Goth-like black toenails.
One of the birds I photographed yesterday was this handsome Red-tailed Hawk that I spotted in a tree at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
This Red-shouldered Hawk photo was taken in Florida in November of 2008 just after the hawk lifted off from an old snag near a Great Blue Heron I had been photographing.
Rough-legged Hawks are among my favorites of the raptors that over winter in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah because I only see them at this time of the year while they wait to head back to the subarctic and Arctic to breed.