Today I am keeping it short and sweet and sharing one photo of a male American Goldfinch perched on a dried Musk Thistle blossom plus a short video clip I took of him as he lifted off and flew away.
This first winter Common Goldeneye drake had no issues with getting close to me as I photographed it on a chilly December afternoon.
I caught a flash of orange that drew my eye and watched as this male Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) dragonfly landed on a branch not far from where I had parked my Jeep.
Yellow Warblers are anything but mellow instead they are frenetic, hyperactive, frenzied, energetic and move so quickly they sometimes make me dizzy trying to track them with my long lens.
One year ago today I experienced one of the two most frustrating days in my entire time of being a bird photographer while photographing Red-naped Sapsuckers in the Targhee National Forest of Idaho.
A flash of yellow, black and white on a purple flower immediately drew my eyes to a male American Goldfinch feasting on the seeds of a Musk Thistle so I stopped, turned my Jeep off and proceeded to photograph the bird.
Yesterday I had fun and frustration while photographing Yellow Warblers feeding their fledglings up in a Wasatch Mountain canyon, fun because it is always great to see them and frustration because of the setting they were in combined with a breeze.
Knowing that this is a favorite perch has given me opportunities I might have missed if I hadn't been paying attention to the behavior of this tiny Broad-tailed Hummingbird since their arrival this spring.
Spending time photographing Yellow Warblers can try the patience of even the most patient photographer because they are so flighty, small and move quickly but it can also be rewarding when you get photos that you like.
Luck was on my side when I found the family of Mountain Bluebirds in good light plus they were close enough to take quality photos of them, first the male then the female and the juveniles.
The male Broad-tailed Hummingbird lifted off from the perch so I pre-focused on it, listened for him to come back then when I heard the bird get close to the perch I fired off a burst of shots and captured him in a landing position with the vivid color of his gorget showing
I spotted a flash of black, white and red as a bird landed in the aspen tree that was closest to me above where the wrens and swallows are nesting and realized that a male Red-naped Sapsucker had flown in and was foraging for food in the buds of the aspen.
That sighting with my Mom made me hope that I would see more Lazuli Buntings in the canyons, yesterday morning that hope was fulfilled when I spotted a first spring male fly into a blooming Chokecherry tree.
I saw and photographed numerous Short-eared Owls yesterday in northern Utah but this photo of a male perched on a "Ranch Access Only" sign was my favorite of the day.
While I photographed nesting House Wrens in the High Uintas the last day of May I also photographed nesting Tree Swallows in the same Aspen tree in a cavity a bit lower on the trunk.
I laughed again when I saw this photo on my camera LCD, the Moose was reaching to grab more willow leaves but was also keeping an eye on me in the mobile blind while his "beard" swung like the clapper of a bell.
This male Yellow Warbler stayed at the top of a willow for quite some time but I was never able to get a completely clear view of him because a light breeze was moving the out of focus willows in the foreground around.
The day I photographed the Green-tailed Towhee singing up in the mountain canyon I also had an opportunity to take a nice series of photos of what appeared to be a mated pair of American Goldfinches.
I had fun yesterday morning photographing a male Green-tailed Towhee singing in a mountain canyon, this was a bird I heard before I spotted him perched on a flowering branch.
Even though the light yesterday morning wasn't optimal for bird photography I took my Mom to the Farmington Bay WMA area to show her around there, we only made it as far as Glover Pond though.
Last week when I took my Mom to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge we were fortunate to see and photograph Killdeer mating while on the auto tour route.
I did do some bird photography yesterday on the way to the Spiral Jetty. I saw more than eight Short-eared Owls and I was able to photograph two of them as they perched on fence posts.
Yesterday morning was spent up in the mountain canyons again photographing the birds I found at the higher elevations, the birds I saw the most of were Yellow Warblers, birds who look like sunshine on the wing.
When I had the opportunity to photograph a Yellow Warbler foraging in a flowering tree I jumped at the chance. Right after I took this photo the warbler snatched a tiny insect from the flowers but I couldn't make out what it was.
Imagine a bird whose bright yellow feathers rival the rays of the sun then add a black forehead, ebony eyes, black and white wings and you have a male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage. Feathered sunshine.
Most often I see the ear tufts of Short-eared Owls when they are on alert, when there is a wind blowing the tufts from behind the owl or when they appear curious about something they can see or hear.
I was able to take these photos of the male Northern Harrier diving after his falling prey because I looked beyond my viewfinder and quickly locked onto the action happening overhead.
Eight days ago it was sunny and bright and I was out having fun photographing a pair of foraging American Avocets in breeding plumage at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah.
The Loggerhead Shrike did fly in and brought prey to feed the presumed female, during the mating season the males will allofeed the females as part of their courtship behavior. I've never been able to photograph allofeeding behavior before so I was tickled pink.
My best bird photos yesterday were of a stunning Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) male in breeding plumage that I photographed as he foraged in tree next to the road.