Red Canyon in the Dixie National Forest
It is difficult for me to believe it has been seven and a half years since I first saw Red Canyon in the Dixie National Forest of Utah but it has been that long.
It is difficult for me to believe it has been seven and a half years since I first saw Red Canyon in the Dixie National Forest of Utah but it has been that long.
It was chilly yesterday on Antelope Island but the Western Meadowlarks were singing from perches on rocks and on top of sagebrush.
The best light can be fleeting though so it is always best to photograph as much as you can during the "golden hours".
So, since the temperatures have been so much warmer than normal I wouldn't be surprised to see American White Pelicans any day now.
Three days ago I had fun photographing a Northern Harrier searching for prey along the Antelope Island Causeway
It was lovely to see the sunshine yesterday and to have the Western Meadowlark and Belted Kingfisher in my viewfinder.
I too have nestled lovingly into this world and climbed its mountains, roamed its forests and sailed its waters.
The day in 2011 when I photographed this Rough-legged Hawk was gray but it didn't really bother me to capture this handsome bird in low light.
So I missed out on seeing the Northern Harriers, Bald Eagles and American Kestrels at Farmington Bay WMA this morning but decided to post an older image of an immature Northern Harrier on the wing.
The light and clouds looked iffy this morning but Antelope Island didn't disappoint when it came to bison and birds plus some dramatic light.
Northern Harriers are year round residents in Utah and I am encouraged by the numbers of them I have seen lately at Farmington Bay WMA.
Shorebirds are still migrating through the Salt Lake Valley and Farmington Bay WMA and there have been quite a few Greater Yellowlegs in the area.
Last month I was able to photograph this Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay on my way up to Cascade Springs in Wasatch County, Utah as it perched on an oak near the road.
This male Red-winged Blackbird was photographed yesterday at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
There are times when the birds I want to photograph are too far away and then there are times when the birds get too close, this Red-tailed Hawk got too close.
Afternoon at Red Rock Lakes I took this image of the Lower Lake at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge while I was settled in at the campground, doing something I don’t always do enough of out in the field, just sitting still and taking it all in. There wasn’t any rush. No chasing light. No scanning nonstop for movement. Just a quiet stretch of time where the land and sky did all the work. The breeze moved through the grasses in front of me, soft and steady, carrying the sounds of birds nearby and from across the lake. I could hear them clearly, but they were scattered, not loud or chaotic. It felt balanced. Calm. The kind of moment where nothing needs to happen for it to be enough. Out over the water, the clouds were putting on their own show. Sunlight slipped in and out, lighting up sections of the hills and then letting them fall back into shadow. It changed by the minute, subtle but constant, like the whole scene was breathing. I remember thinking how easy [...]
I am a part of the wild things even though my outsides might be adorned with the trappings of civilization my heartbeat still tells me I am wild.
I think all raptors have a ferocious appearance but this Ferruginous Hawk definitely looked ferocious to me yesterday right after it lifted off from its perch high on a pole.
Ring-billed Gulls are fairly common but as with any common bird I believe that they can be uncommonly beautiful.
This Great Blue Heron landed briefly on a willow that was along the road at Farmington Bay but before I could get my exposure set correctly it took flight.
The amazing birds and animals keep me going back to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge but the scenery and wildness of the area does too.
If you ever get to Utah be sure to try to spend a morning or even a full day at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge because there is always something great going on there!
I love the stare of raptors because they always appear so serious, intense and they have a no-nonsense look to their eyes like this Red-tailed Hawk has.
Happy Summer Solstice.
It is raining here in the valley this morning and snow is falling in the high country in the middle of June so I am sitting here dreaming of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
It's Monday and I didn't have any idea what to post this morning so I opted to present this image of two Brown Pelicans flying double-decker style over the Gulf of Mexico.
A simple but fishy post today of an Osprey that flew over my head at Fort De Soto County Park taken 5 years ago in Florida.
I photographed this Osprey at Lettuce Lake Regional Park from the observation tower, the Osprey had tried to catch a fish but came up with just the filamentous algae in its talons.
Last month while camping near Capitol Reef National Park I was delighted to find a Peregrine Falcon feeding on prey near some Sandhill Cranes in a field that I had been photographing.
It is really cruddy here in Utah this morning so I thought I would go back in time to a warmer, sunnier day via the magic of some Black Skimmer images I created five years ago today.