Seeing a few flocks of Tundra Swans in flight two days in northern Utah was a reminder that these big, white swans have already begun their migration to their breeding grounds on the tundra of northern Canada and Alaska.
A few nights ago I opened the door to check out the cloud cover and weather conditions before going to bed and for the first time since I moved to Utah I heard a flock of calling Killdeer flying past in the pitch black night.
Franklin's Gulls are only here in northern Utah during the breeding season, during the winter they spend their time along the west coast of South America.
Last month I was able to photograph flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes on the Great Salt Lake when they were migrating through the area.
The Yellow-rumped Warblers are seen in high numbers here in northern Utah during spring and fall migration, these birds are migrating south now.
I think the Sagebrush Sparrows are beautiful, elegant birds and I want more photos of them than I have!
All summer long I have heard Willow Flycatchers up in some of the Wasatch Mountain Canyons but had been unable to capture quality images of them.
Shorebirds begin their fall migration early and for those of us who live in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem that means looking for them in the marshes around the lake and on the lake itself.
What is really fascinating to me is that within two days of fledging Ruddy Turnstone chicks embark on their first migration to their wintering grounds.
There were several hundred Canada Geese on the pond and because I have seen reports of Cackling and Snow Geese in the area I scanned the pond with my lens and spotted a lone Snow Goose.
Most of the American Avocets have migrated away from northern Utah but most years we can have a few stragglers that haven't migrated by this time of the year
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge hosts up to 13,000 Tundra Swans during November through December where they utilize the freshwater wetland habitats on the refuge.
American Pipits are migrating through Utah in large numbers right now and yesterday morning at Farmington Bay they seemed to be everywhere!
If you would like to follow some of the American White Pelicans from Utah on migration a few of them have been fitted with solar-powered GPS transmitter backpacks and the PeliTrack map shows their locations.
This is National Wildlife Refuge Week and in celebration I wanted to do a pictorial essay that includes some of my images of the Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
I photographed this Solitary Sandpiper two days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and saw several more and I also photographed a pair of them the week before.
One a fall day at Fort De Soto I was able to photograph this Black-bellied Plover on a foggy morning up close on the beach.
Last August I was a bit surprised to see a Northern House Wren at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge from the auto tour loop around the marshes there.
Seeing these uncommon Western Bluebirds in Tooele County in the Stansbury Mountain Range yesterday is part of why I love bird photography so much.
The only time I see Least Sandpipers here in Utah is when they are migrating through the Great Basin hub of the Pacific Flyway.
It is early October but I am already starting to get excited about seeing my first of the season Rough-legged Hawks.
American Pipits were known for a long time as Water Pipits because they feed at the edge of tundra puddles and wet alpine meadows.
I've been able to photograph several shorebird species the past week and although Greater Yellowlegs are common at Farmington Bay WMA I still think they are quite lovely.
It isn't every day that I add a lifer to the list of shorebirds I have seen and photographed but yesterday I did when I saw and photographed a Pectoral Sandpiper.
I had wanted to post this photo of a juvenile Swainson's Hawk last week from Montana but because my cell signal was so cruddy I didn't get this image uploaded.
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.
Early last week while photographing Western Kingbirds I also had the opportunity to photograph a Willow Flycatcher that was hanging around the same area on Antelope Island State Park.
I'm sharing a simple Semipalmated Sandpiper image today that I photographed at Fort De Soto's north beach back in May of 2009.
One thing I know for certain is that we can't drink dust.
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.