raptors

Adult Male Rough-legged Hawk Perched On A Russian Olive

By |2021-11-06T07:17:31-05:00January 11th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I could wish that there weren't any branches in front of the hawk but honestly it just felt good to not have something happen to ruin my opportunity to photograph this Rough-legged Hawk.

Male American Kestrels At Bear River MBR

By |2021-12-29T04:24:56-06:00January 7th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While this male American Kestrel struggled to maintain his grip on the thin branches of the Tamarisk I struggled to keep him in my viewfinder.

Ferruginous Hawks in Utah

By |2021-09-23T13:20:27-05:00December 26th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Knowing what kind of habitat Ferruginous Hawks prefer during all four seasons here in northern Utah can increase the chances of finding them year round.

Time For Winter Bald Eagle Photography In Northern Utah

By |2021-03-12T04:10:27-06:00December 23rd, 2019|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

So if you don't enjoy the craziness that can happen at Farmington Bay WMA when the Bald Eagles arrive for the winter just pick an area and go for a relaxed drive to another location.

An Immature Rough-legged Hawk Hunting For Prey At Bear River MBR

By |2021-11-06T07:20:40-05:00December 21st, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago when I stopped counting Rough-legged Hawks while at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge the number had topped out at fifteen.

Split Second Eye Contact With An Immature Northern Harrier

By |2021-04-10T04:03:54-05:00December 20th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two frames later the immature Northern Harrier tilted its head, looked directly towards my lens, and seemed to eyeball me and my gear.

Immature Cooper’s Hawk Appearing Just A Bit Goofy

By |2024-03-14T06:21:32-05:00December 7th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Sometimes raptors can look deadly serious and intense, especially when they are watching, diving on or consuming prey but they can appear to look a little goofy too.

Light Morph Rough-legged Hawk In The West Desert

By |2021-02-26T07:10:14-06:00November 25th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

There was a stiff breeze blowing and when the light morph Rough-legged Hawk lifted off from the juniper it seemed to me as if he did it in slow motion.

Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk Photographed In Early Morning Light

By |2023-11-24T03:22:04-06:00November 24th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I photograph birds all the time and there are a few that simply take my breath away and totally mesmerize me, this dark morph Ferruginous Hawk is one of those birds.

One Striking Immature Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk That “Wowed” Me

By |2024-02-21T03:47:55-06:00November 20th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Harlan's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This immature Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk is striking with those white polka dot spots on its back, I don't think I have ever seen a young Red-tail where the white spots on the scapulars are so pronounced.

Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk On The Hunt In The West Desert

By |2023-11-24T03:53:53-06:00November 18th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has been a long time since I had a dark morph Ferruginous Hawk in my view finder so when I spotted it hovering over a field I knew I had to stop and get photos of it.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk Close Up

By |2021-11-28T03:55:48-06:00November 10th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The thing about this immature Red-tailed Hawk photo is this: I don't like the background color because I see these colors, tones and hues so frequently where I live in northern Utah.

Early Morning Immature Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By |2023-10-29T06:26:33-05:00November 2nd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I didn't get the Brown Creeper photos I have been dreaming of yesterday but I did take lovely images of an immature Ferruginous Hawk in early morning, golden light.

Searching For Rough-legged Hawks

By |2021-03-03T07:23:36-06:00October 28th, 2019|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is currently the time of the year when I start looking for Rough-legged Hawks in northern Utah, the temps have dipped below freezing, there has been frost on the ground and now we've had our first snow.

Reasons Why We May Be Seeing Fewer Northern Harriers At Farmington Bay

By |2021-06-19T03:54:27-05:00October 25th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I don't see nearly as many harriers over the marshes at Farmington Bay as I used to five to ten years ago but the marshes have changed some since I moved to northern Utah.

Sharp-shinned Hawk Perched And Preening

By |2023-10-13T14:24:32-05:00October 19th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When it comes to accipiters I see Sharp-shinned Hawks less frequently than I do Cooper's Hawks or Northern Goshawks so when I have a Sharp-shinned Hawk in my viewfinder I become very excited.

Autumn Colors With An Immature Red-tailed Hawk In The Wasatch Mountains

By |2022-10-02T06:01:10-05:00October 3rd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Red-tailed Hawks, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I have to wonder though how many people walked or drove right past this young Red-tailed Hawk and never noticed that it was even there

Photographing A Cooperative Immature Cooper’s Hawk

By |2024-03-16T14:22:18-05:00October 1st, 2019|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I couldn't have asked for a better birdy subject yesterday morning than this relaxed and cooperative immature Cooper's Hawk and I loved the setting it was in too.

Hatch Year Cooper’s Hawk Resting In Sagebrush

By |2024-03-16T13:00:10-05:00September 23rd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Spotting this immature Cooper's Hawk resting in sagebrush yesterday was the highlight of my morning and even though the setting is messy I like that it shows this young hawk in the habitat this species can be found in.  

West Desert Views While Looking For Birds

By |2021-10-10T05:51:16-05:00September 19th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I like to share some of the views I see while I am out wandering to look for birds because the scenery and different habitats I see at times are simply spectacular.

Ferruginous Hawk Lightening Its Load Before Lift Off

By |2021-09-23T09:38:53-05:00September 17th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, weather, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I don't see nearly as many Ferruginous Hawks as I would like to so I am always glad when I have one in my viewfinder that I can photograph even if it is taking a dump.

Rough-legged Hawk On A Snowy Day At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By |2021-11-06T07:15:34-05:00September 14th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I didn't see or photograph as many Rough-legged Hawks last winter as I have in previous years but I did have a close up, extraordinary experience with one who was expelling a pellet on a snowy, foggy day at Bear River MBR.

An Immature Red-tailed Hawk On A Foggy Morning In The Mountains

By |2021-05-03T03:18:41-05:00September 13th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Red-tailed Hawks, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

There are times when one bird can make my day and yesterday that bird was an immature Red-tailed Hawk that I spotted just before heading home after a trip into the mountains that included fog and other challenges.

Immature Swainson’s Hawk In Changing Light

By |2021-04-15T03:51:25-05:00September 9th, 2019|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This photo session with an immature Swainson's Hawk reinforced how as a bird photographer I need to not only be keenly aware of changing light it also showed how I may need to quickly change my settings to get the photos I want.

Immature Swainson’s Hawk, Golden Light And Common Sunflowers

By |2021-05-16T06:14:14-05:00September 6th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Swainson's Hawks, Utah, Wildflowers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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.

Photographing Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk Siblings

By |2023-05-05T10:17:28-05:00August 31st, 2019|Categories: Birds, Red-tailed Hawks, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I spent 26 minutes yesterday photographing juvenile Red-tailed Hawk siblings and had a blast watching them preen, lift off, flying, scratching, resting and landing.

Red-tailed Hawk Behavior When A Northern Harrier Attacks

By |2024-04-04T05:25:56-05:00May 6th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I heard a call to my left I glanced in that direction and saw a female Northern Harrier flying towards the Red-tailed at break neck speed.

Male Red-tailed Hawk Resting On A Desert Cliff

By |2021-03-22T10:26:06-05:00April 28th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The best bird I spotted that I could photograph was a male Red-tailed Hawk resting on a cliff face and what I loved about this photo was all the grasses, lichen, wildflowers and the sage high up on the cliff.

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