low light

Male Rough-legged Hawk On A National Wildlife Refuge Sign

By |2021-12-17T05:29:36-06:00December 17th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Nine days ago this Rough-legged Hawk resting on a National Wildlife sign in low light was the first hawk I spotted and photographed.

Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and Earth Shadow Memories

By |2021-10-15T05:08:51-05:00October 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Thirteen years ago this morning I photographed a Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and the Earth Shadow on the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park on the west coast of Florida.

Rufous Hummingbird For National Hummingbird Day

By |2021-09-04T06:03:59-05:00September 4th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rufous Hummingbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today is National Hummingbird Day and I am celebrating by sharing some Rufous Hummingbird photos I took earlier this week on Antelope Island.

Rufous Hummingbird Plus Smoky Rising Sun Photos

By |2021-09-01T06:53:07-05:00September 1st, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Low light, Rufous Hummingbirds, Utah, western skies|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday I went out to Antelope Island for the first time since April and I took hundreds of Rufous Hummingbird photos plus some of the rising sun.

Tree Swallows Have Returned

By |2024-03-25T07:54:11-05:00March 23rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Idaho, Modoc Creek, Summit County, Targhee National Forest, Tree Swallows, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A little birdie told me that Tree Swallows returned to the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge about the middle of this month.

High Key Immature Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By |2021-02-19T06:22:17-06:00February 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today I am sharing two high key type images of an immature Red-tailed Hawk I photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.

Urban Raptor Photography

By |2024-03-16T11:30:01-05:00January 17th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I first moved to Utah in 2009 I never expected to be able to do urban raptor photography from my living room window.

Happy New Year’s Day 2021

By |2024-02-13T19:05:15-06:00January 1st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Pied-billed Grebes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is a chilly 29°F where I live in northern Utah on New Year's Day 2021 and from my living room window I can see that it is foggy outside.

Photographing A Herring Gull In Thick Fog At Bear River MBR

By |2021-12-24T14:31:49-06:00January 29th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Herring Gulls, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

After reviewing the images I took of the gull at home on a larger screen I was happy to see that it was a Herring Gull, gulls we only see in the winter here.

Winter Ring-billed Gulls – From Low Light To Afternoon Light

By |2024-03-04T07:32:21-06:00January 13th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ring-billed Gulls, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I can't say that I prefer one of these Ring-billed Gull images over the other, the low light image is as appealing to me as the one I took in afternoon light. I enjoy them both.

Time For Winter Bald Eagle Photography In Northern Utah

By |2021-03-12T04:10:27-06:00December 23rd, 2019|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

So if you don't enjoy the craziness that can happen at Farmington Bay WMA when the Bald Eagles arrive for the winter just pick an area and go for a relaxed drive to another location.

I Should Have Listened To My Instincts Yesterday

By |2024-03-05T02:53:43-06:00December 16th, 2019|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Barn Owls, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I might have taken some wonderful photos of birds in nice light yesterday if I had only listened to my instincts and gone out to look for birds.

Focusing On Winter Redheads

By |2023-12-17T11:22:25-06:00December 11th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Why were the mallards sticking close to this Redhead? That was because she was diving down into the pond and bringing up aquatic vegetation to feed on and the mallards were stealing bits of it from her. 

One Striking Immature Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk That “Wowed” Me

By |2024-02-21T03:47:55-06:00November 20th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Harlan's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This immature Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk is striking with those white polka dot spots on its back, I don't think I have ever seen a young Red-tail where the white spots on the scapulars are so pronounced.

Rough-legged Hawk On A Snowy Day At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By |2021-11-06T07:15:34-05:00September 14th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I didn't see or photograph as many Rough-legged Hawks last winter as I have in previous years but I did have a close up, extraordinary experience with one who was expelling a pellet on a snowy, foggy day at Bear River MBR.

Immature Swainson’s Hawk In Changing Light

By |2021-04-15T03:51:25-05:00September 9th, 2019|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This photo session with an immature Swainson's Hawk reinforced how as a bird photographer I need to not only be keenly aware of changing light it also showed how I may need to quickly change my settings to get the photos I want.

Photographing Tundra Swans And Northern Pintails In Low Light

By |2024-03-20T10:15:23-05:00March 5th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Pintails, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Our Tundra Swans won't be at the refuge much longer and will soon be winging their way to their breeding grounds in the Arctic and I realize that my opportunities to photograph them before they leave are dwindling.

Rough-legged Hawk Expelling A Pellet Close Up Photos

By |2021-11-06T07:42:49-05:00February 20th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I've never been this close to a Rough-legged Hawk expelling a pellet before and it is likely that I will never be this fortunate again. This Rough-legged Hawk was my best bird for the day and I'm glad I stopped and waited for him to expel the pellet before moving on down the auto tour route.

Canada Geese On A Snowy Day Much Like This Morning

By |2024-02-13T13:16:33-06:00February 6th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This pair of Canada Geese were photographed last winter near the Jordan River close to where I live at the tail end of a storm similar to the storm occurring right now.

Male Red-breasted Merganser On A Snowy Day In Northern Utah

By |2021-12-14T04:51:46-06:00January 22nd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Red-breasted Mergansers, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

At first I thought the single Red-breasted Merganser was a female until I noticed the white patches of feathers behind its neck on its sides and then I realized that the merganser was a male because females do not typically have those white patches.

Angry Looking Redhead Drake

By |2023-12-17T06:45:45-06:00January 18th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This Redhead isn't "angry" at all but it does look angry to my eyes and this morning I'm feeling about as angry as this duck looks. I'll explain but first I have to give a bit more information about how my mornings start.

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