Gulf Shore Black Skimmer Skimming
Black Skimmers forage by skimming their bills in the waves just off shore and snap up fish when their sensitive bills locate them.
Black Skimmers forage by skimming their bills in the waves just off shore and snap up fish when their sensitive bills locate them.
Two years ago today I was in Beaverhead County, Montana photographing Cassin's Finches foraging on the seeds of dandelions on a morning that had sunshine and plenty of fog.
I photographed my first of the year Common Nighthawk yesterday in northern Utah after I found and pointed it out resting on a red gate about mid-morning.
Two years ago in July I photographed this young Burrowing Owl on a post in morning light and I relaxed and let a smile form on my lips.
I'm drawn to and fascinated by these western desert Burrowing Owls because they are beautiful, interesting and animated subjects. And they are pretty darn cute!
Whenever I view this photo of a lone Black Skimmer in flight on a foggy Gulf shore I feel a wave of joy and peaceful feelings wash over me.
I spent some time in the Centennial Valley of Montana yesterday and the best bird I spotted was this adult Prairie Falcon photographed on a cattle chute with a white cloud in the background.
Last month I wrote about how surprised I was to spot a Great Horned Owl in the marsh at Bear River MBR in northern Utah and said I would post more photos later, so here they are.
I did see and photograph this adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron standing on a grassy sand dune overlooking the Gulf of Mexico in beautiful, soft light.
One of my favorite photo sessions of that trip last fall was an evening spent with the Trumpeter Swans of southwestern Montana in gorgeous evening light.
I was tickled to photograph this American Avocet as it fed but it wasn't until later that I knew it was devouring a tiny crayfish.
It will take several molts before this immature Ring-billed Gull looks like an adult but by now, a year after it was photographed, this juvenile should look more like the adult.
I photographed this Solitary Sandpiper two days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and saw several more and I also photographed a pair of them the week before.
I photographed this sleepy Great Horned Owl male sitting in a opening of the granary, he was probably exhausted from helping his mate raise their young.
Two days ago I was able to photograph an Eastern Kingbird hawking insects from a fence on my way out of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
A few days ago I discovered several male Eight-spotted Skimmers close to the edge of Glover Pond at Farmington Bay and was delighted to photograph these beautifully patterned Odonata.
The sound you hear in the video is just one Western Grebe chick begging to be fed and it was loud even over the wind!
Yesterday I had an immature Sage Thrasher get so close to me that I was able to take portraits of it as it perched out in the open.
One a fall day at Fort De Soto I was able to photograph this Black-bellied Plover on a foggy morning up close on the beach.
This sleeping Willet image remains one of my favorite images because it was so comfortable in my presence that it fell asleep.
This Clark's Grebe portrait shows the brilliant red eye, the smoothness of the sharp bill and tiny water droplets in the downy plumage of the grebe's face, crown and neck.
Yesterday morning I spent fifteen minutes with sibling Burrowing Owl juveniles in northern Utah not long after the sun came up and while there was still golden light.
It seemed like every where I looked I saw little chipmunks scurrying around on the ground and climbing in the scrub oaks that dot the western side of the Wasatch Mountains.
I haven't posted a Burrowing Owl in a bit so I thought I would share this yawning juvenile Burrowing Owl that I photographed the beginning of July.
Two days ago while on the auto tour loop at Bear River MBR an American White Pelican caught my eyes because of its unusually dark crown, nape, and neck plumage.
I saw plenty of birds yesterday including juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons at Bear River MBR every where I looked.
Killdeer chicks are precocial and active soon after hatching and will leave the nest as soon as their down dries.
These are a few of the Beaverhead County Red-tailed Hawks that I have photographed while on this trip to Montana and Idaho.
When I took this image the juvenile Loggerhead Shrike was perched on a dead twig when the robber fly flew into the frame, the shrike took off after the fly and caught it in mid air.
On the day I photographed this Wood Duck hen with her duckling the duckweed covered the surface.