Happy Mother’s Day 2022
I wanted to wish all moms a Happy Mother's Day with a wildflower that I see blooming at this time of year in northern Utah. This is a blooming Lewis's Flax.
I wanted to wish all moms a Happy Mother's Day with a wildflower that I see blooming at this time of year in northern Utah. This is a blooming Lewis's Flax.
I am enjoying seeing the birds that have returned to breed in Utah including this American White Pelican I photographed in low light two days ago at a local pond.
The first wildflowers I photographed this spring were some Gray's Biscuitroot that I found blooming on the north end of Antelope Island last week.
Today is National Hummingbird Day and I am celebrating by sharing some Rufous Hummingbird photos I took earlier this week on Antelope Island.
Of the hundreds of White-lined Sphinx moth photos I took two days ago I picked three to share today of the moth feeding on Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.
I photographed some birds yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains but it was the blooming Common Sunflower with an ant that made me smile the most when I saw it on my screen.
The first time I raised my lens yesterday morning it was for blooming Prickly Poppies that were along the shoulder of the bumpy gravel road.
When I returned home and could view my images on a large screen I was able to identify this swallowtail butterfly as a male Two-tailed Swallowtail.
Yesterday morning I spent part of my time in the Wasatch Mountains focused on a Gray Catbird searching for ripe honeysuckle berries.
Two days ago I photographed an adult Spotted Sandpiper foraging in Common Water-Crowfoot in a creek in the Wasatch Mountains.
Once again I missed out on photographing Showy Milkweed at the lower elevations of northern Utah but I made up for it by photographing some of these spectacular pink wildflowers high in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday.
I am not just a bird photographer. I am also a student of nature each and every time I venture into the field because being out there teaches me something new on practically every journey.
Two days ago I spotted a Wild Turkey tom crossing a dirt road high up in the Stansbury Mountains and to my delight there were several more males following behind him.
Two days ago I was able to photograph an immature Swainson's Hawk in golden light perched on a fence post that was surrounded by bright yellow common sunflowers. Yes, I was blissed out.
I missed out on photographing Showy Milkweed in bloom in the lower elevations of northern Utah but not at the higher elevations of the Wasatch Mountains.
The wild roses, like many of the other wildflowers, don't bloom for long so I am happy that I took the time to photograph individual blossoms and the top of one of the rose bushes this year
Like the chokecherries I wrote about yesterday it seems that because of our wetter than normal spring the serviceberries are also doing very well so there should be plentiful fruit for the birds to feast on before they migrate this fall.
Because of our wetter than normal spring it seems that the chokecherries are doing well, extremely well. Many of the chokecherry branches are bending low because of the weight of the blossoms.
I spent yesterday morning enjoying a Broad-tailed Hummingbird bliss in the Wasatch Mountains by finding their favorite perches and photographing them feeding, resting, and defending their territories.
I photographed some of the cutest, fuzzy Bee Flies in the world this week nectaring on Rabbitbrush and Curlycup Gumweed in the Stansbury Mountains of the West Desert.
The wildflowers I photographed are Desert Globemallows (Sphaeralcea ambigua) and they were blooming abundantly on the road to the jetty, I don't think I have seen so many of them in full bloom before.
Although Peppervine is considered a problem by some people because of their growth habit I think in the natural setting of Saw Grass County Park it fits in quite wonderfully.