Ferocious Ferruginous
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.
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.
I was ready when I thought this Western Meadowlark was going to take flight but instead the meadowlark took a flying leap towards the ground.
The reason Utah got uglier is that today Crow hunting killing season begins for the first time in the state so the day is already off on a bad start.
Photographing hummingbirds in the wild can be daunting and fast paced, so fast paced that there are times I don't often have time to properly ID them in the field.
Two years ago today I was in Glacier County, Montana photographing sparrows, partridge, Swainson's Hawks and White-tailed Deer.
I've compiled a medley of images this morning of bees, moths and hummingbirds that I have photographed this past week to share this morning.
This Rufous Hummingbird had a favorite perch that looked out over its favorite patch of Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.
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.
I enjoy watching Snowy Egrets foraging for prey and I had the opportunity to do that up close last week at Glover Pond with this egret.
There were quite a few White-faced Ibis on Glover Pond near the Great Salt Lake Nature Center and I focused on them for a bit.
Yesterday I focused on a few wading birds I saw at Glover Pond near the Great Salt Lake Nature Center and that include Great Blue Herons and White-faced Ibis.
On my recent trip to Idaho and Montana I was delighted to photograph a foraging Solitary Sandpiper in a farm pond in Beaverhead County, MT.
Right now on Antelope Island State Park teenaged birds are molting into their adult plumage including young Black-billed Magpies.
Every time I see this image of this Richardson's Ground Squirrel I have to laugh because of how full its mouth is.
This week the temperatures here in Utah are going to be in the mid to upper 90's so I was looking for something to visually cool down with and I thought of Alaska.
Black Skimmers are beautiful and unmistakable, with their long orange/red black tipped bill, white underparts, blackish upper parts and distinctive barking call.
There were other wildflowers blooming in the mountains yesterday but in the Soapstone Basin it was the Mule's Ears that stole the show.
This photo of a Semipalmated Plover on the shore of the Gulf was purposely photographed so that the plover would be small in the frame
Some times when I am photographing I capture my subjects in funny poses and I think I did exactly that with this Mountain Bluebird female.
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!
Burrowing Owls are one of my favorite subjects to photograph and to get one perched with the Great Salt Lake in the background was wonderful.
The nicknames for Short-eared Owls are many and include Evening Owl, Mouse-hawk, Marsh Owl, Bog Owl and Flat-faced Owl but I just call them Shorties in the field.
Sawgrass Lake Park in Pinellas County, Florida is a wonderful location for birds and other things with wings including Eastern Pondhawk dragonflies.
This morning while Antelope Island there was a Loggerhead Shrike perched on a dead branch that was near the north shoreline of the Great Salt Lake.
Clark's Grebes and their young are fascinating subjects to watch and photograph.
Soon Caspian Terns will be back in Utah flying over rivers, ponds, lakes, and other freshwater impoundments searching for prey.
I'd forgotten all about this Loggerhead Shrike image that I had taken in July of 2011 and came across it the other day, I had meant to post it some time ago but as you all know life gets kind of busy at times.
In Florida it was not uncommon for me to see Brown Pelicans gliding just barely above the surface of the Gulf of Mexico like the juvenile shown in my image.
Shorebirds like this tiny Snowy Plover on a sugar sand beach were my "spark" birds when it comes to my bird photography and they are what made my passion for bird photography catch fire.
Gray Flycatchers are generally found in sagebrush and arid busy habitats so it was a real treat to see this one in the marshy habitat of the refuge.