raptors

Driftwood Guardian: Rough-legged Hawk

By |February 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.

Rough-legged Hawk Staredown

By |January 11th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One year ago this morning I was on the road to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where my best subject of the day was a male light morph Rough-legged Hawk.

My 2022 Year In Review

By |December 31st, 2022|Categories: American Kestrels, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Box Elder County, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Golden Eagles, Great Horned Owls, Horned Grebes, Morgan County, Northern Yellow Warblers, Ring-billed Gulls, Rock Wrens, Ruffed Grouse, Tundra Swans, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Western Warbling-Vireos|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On this last day of the year it is time for my annual 2022 Year in Review post. In some ways 2022 has been great for me and in others not so good.

Immature Ferruginous Hawk In December

By |December 23rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was overjoyed to see an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk in my viewfinder four years ago in December while I was out in Utah's West Desert.

Immature Rough-legged Hawk, Staring Prey And Feaking

By |December 15th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I am sharing photos of an immature Rough-legged Hawk, its staring prey, of the bird feaking and a bonus image that shows the tongue of the hawk.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk In A Safety Zone

By |December 4th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

About two years ago, I photographed this immature Red-tailed Hawk resting above a safety zone sign at Farmington Bay WMA on a cold morning.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk Head On Stare

By |November 28th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

If I were a vole, I'd tremble in fear under the head on stare of this immature Red-tailed Hawk that I photographed last week at Farmington Bay WMA.

Male Northern Harrier Photo

By |November 22nd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I'd like this photo of a male Northern Harrier more if there weren't camping trailers from a duck hunting club near the auto loop of Bear River MBR behind him.

West Desert Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk

By |November 21st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Nearly three years have passed since I found, pointed out, and photographed this stunning dark morph Ferruginous Hawk in the West Desert of Utah.

Desert Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By |October 28th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While I was up in far northern Utah looking for birds last week, I took quite a few Red-tailed Hawk photos. I shared one image a few days ago and here are a few more.

Rough-legged Hawk Season Has Begun

By |October 25th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Rough-legged Hawk season has begun in northern Utah. I spotted my first of season Rough-legged Hawks on the wing last Friday.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk With ‘Tude

By |October 24th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While I was up in far northern Utah last week, the first bird I photographed was this immature Red-tailed Hawk that seemed to have a surly attitude about it.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk With Mountains In The Background

By |October 15th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

My best bird photos from yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA were of an immature Red-tailed Hawk with the shadowed Wasatch Mountain slopes in the background.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk In The West Desert

By |September 11th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last month while I wandered in the West Desert I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk perched on a wooden fence post in the foothills of some sky island mountains.

International Vulture Awareness Day 2022

By |September 3rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Tooele County, Turkey Vultures, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The first Saturday of September is International Vulture Awareness Day which is a day to bring awareness to these birds that face a range of threats.

Dark Morph Swainson’s Hawk Photos

By |August 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.

Young Golden Eagle On A Cliff

By |April 2nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I found and pointed out quite a few birds yesterday but my favorite was this young Golden Eagle on a cliff in morning light because it was so beautiful.

Two Bald Eagle Images From Bear River MBR

By |March 2nd, 2022|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The first bird I photographed on the last day of February was an adult Bald Eagle in the soft morning light who was perched on a leaning wooden post.

The Golden Eagle – Utah’s Official State Bird Of Prey

By |February 25th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I would like to celebrate the State of Utah's newly designated official state bird of prey, the Golden Eagle.

Immature Rough-legged Hawk Perched On A Tumbleweed

By |February 20th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was delighted to spot, point out, and photograph this immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk that was perched on a tumbleweed at Bear River MBR yesterday morning.

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