ranchlands

Turkey Vultures Are Heading To Their Breeding Grounds

By |2024-03-29T05:05:23-05:00March 29th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A little birdie told me that they easily saw more than 60 turkey vultures flying over St. George two evenings ago. That birdie was my good friend April Olson.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk In Spring At Bear River MBR

By |2024-03-24T04:51:56-05:00March 24th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

About two years ago, I photographed this immature Red-tailed Hawk near the Bear River, on my way out of the auto tour loop of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

Eyes On The Sky – Osprey Migration Is Underway

By |2024-03-15T04:25:46-05:00March 15th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ospreys, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is time for me to keep my eyes on the sky because Osprey migration is underway. Online, in the past week, I've seen them being reported in Montana and Idaho.

Immature Common Merganser Shaking Off

By |2024-03-13T07:47:51-05:00March 13th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Mergansers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Just a simple photo of an immature Common Merganser today. I took this image of the merganser on the Bear River almost two years ago on a bright, sunny morning.

Canada Geese On The Bear River

By |2024-02-13T04:45:17-06:00February 13th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Canada Geese, Utah, Video|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning, at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, I took a short video of Canada Geese in the road while I was on the north side of the auto tour loop.

Young Red-tailed Hawk Up Close

By |2024-02-10T07:41:25-06:00February 10th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The day I photographed this young Red-tailed Hawk, I took 135 images of the immature raptor in just a little over a minute at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

Winter Great Blue Heron On Thin Bear River Ice – Utah Is On Thin Ice Too

By |2024-01-05T04:58:20-06:00January 5th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I photographed this Great Blue Heron almost two years ago, walking gingerly on the thinning ice of the Bear River. I was on my way to the auto tour loop at the refuge when I spotted this heron.

My Solitaire Common Name Change Recommendation

By |2023-11-20T05:02:29-06:00November 20th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Tooele County, Townsend's Solitaires, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

In 2024, the common name for Townsend's Solitaire will change, along with many other bird names. My recommendation would be to rename it the Juniper Solitaire.

Western Meadowlark Amusement

By |2023-11-02T03:28:19-05:00November 2nd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Photographing this Western Meadowlark on Monday on my way back to I-15 from Bear River MBR was so much fun for me that it probably ought to be illegal.

An Incredible Shelf Cloud Over Bear River MBR

By |2023-10-24T05:51:47-05:00October 24th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Miscellaneous, Utah, Weather Phenomena|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today, I am sharing a few images of an incredible shelf cloud over Bear River MBR that I was thrilled to see and photograph yesterday morning.

International Vulture Awareness Day 2023

By |2023-09-02T05:25:14-05:00September 2nd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Black Vultures, Box Elder County, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today is International Vulture Awareness Day 2023. I admit to having a soft spot for vultures because they are often misunderstood, and because I tend to stand up for those who have no voice.

Kamas Valley Killdeer

By |2023-08-23T04:46:11-05:00August 23rd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Kamas Valley, Killdeer, Summit County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week, in the Kamas Valley in Summit County, Utah I was pleased to take Killdeer photos in a wet meadow with pink clovers and piles of cow manure.

Kamas Valley Western Meadowlark With A Grasshopper

By |2023-08-21T04:48:49-05:00August 21st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Kamas Valley, Summit County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The first bird I photographed last week from the side of the road in the Kamas Valley was this scruffy Western Meadowlark with a grasshopper.

Least Sandpiper In Kamas Valley

By |2023-08-20T04:45:08-05:00August 20th, 2023|Categories: Bird ID, Birds, Kamas Valley, Least Sandpipers, Summit County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The most surprising and wonderful bird I saw and photographed on Thursday with my friend, April Olson, was a migrating Least Sandpiper in the Kamas Valley.

My First Of Year Western Kingbird Images

By |2023-05-08T03:45:54-05:00May 8th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Western Kingbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On my last trip to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was tickled to take my first of year Western Kingbird photos when I was heading back to the interstate.

Young Bald Eagle Looking Fierce

By |2024-02-06T03:17:09-06:00February 28th, 2023|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today I'm sharing a photo of a young Bald Eagle who was looking mighty fierce while perched on a power pole that I took last February on a very cold morning.

Canada Geese Courtship: A Prelude To Spring

By |2023-02-18T04:45:52-06:00February 18th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Canada Geese, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

February might seem early but I'm already noticing that Canada Geese are pairing up at Bear River MBR which is a prelude to the arrival of spring.

Driftwood Guardian: Rough-legged Hawk

By |2023-02-06T05:01:35-06:00February 6th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I stopped to take photos of an adult male Rough-legged Hawk perched on a driftwood snag over the Bear River when I was leaving Bear River MBR four days ago.

Dark Morph Swainson’s Hawk Photos

By |2022-08-29T03:18:20-05:00August 29th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Early yesterday morning on my way to the auto tour route at Bear River MBR I was delighted to see and photograph not just one dark morph Swainson's Hawk but two.

Male Red-winged Blackbird In Front Of A Ranch Pond

By |2022-04-12T04:41:31-05:00April 12th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I photographed this male Red-winged Blackbird in front of a ranch pond two days ago when it felt like spring in northern Utah. This morning there is snow on the ground.

Spring Male Yellow-headed Blackbird Portraits

By |2022-04-03T05:28:36-05:00April 3rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I was up in northern Utah two days ago there was a male Yellow-headed Blackbird that was so close that all I could do was take portraits of him.

Late Winter Savannah Sparrow Photos

By |2022-03-15T05:45:55-05:00March 15th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Savannah Sparrows, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning I was delighted to find a late winter Savannah Sparrow out in the open to photograph next to the road.

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