Help With Drake Scaup Identification
Every fall and winter when Lesser and Greater Scaups are seen in northern Utah I hear questions about scaup identification.
Every fall and winter when Lesser and Greater Scaups are seen in northern Utah I hear questions about scaup identification.
A few days ago I saw someone say that they rarely saw photos of Ruddy Ducks in flight and I remembered I had a series of them flying past taken 11 years ago.
Last winter I missed seeing overwintering Double-crested Cormorants at my local ponds and in other locations in northern Utah where I typically see them.
Starting today I will be keeping an eye out for the return of Bald Eagles to the lower elevations of northern Utah.
This has been a weird fall so far and because of that I haven't been out to look for urban birds like this Yellow-rumped Warbler I photographed last year close to home.
About a week ago I photographed a young Pied-billed Grebe that was still in juvenal plumage on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA.
I like having my windows open so I can hear the sounds of birds when I can't be in the field. It helps me to hear them especially when the world is so crazy.
The 2021 AOS Supplement did mean that I had a bit of work to do on my site after I read that it had been published on the ABA website last night.
Ten days ago when I took this male Spotted Towhee image close to home I had tough, low light conditions to photograph him in.
Earlier this week I photographed a male Dark-eyed Junco in snow close to home in poor, low light conditions. I am happy with how the photo turned out.
After an extremely snowy night and morning I was able to get out yesterday afternoon and take some wintry American Coot portraits close to home.
Two days ago there were plenty of White-crowned Sparrows in the same area where I photographed two Spotted Towhees.
There was about 2 1/2 inches of white stuff on the ground yesterday morning which allowed me to take this snowy Spotted Towhee portrait close to home.
When I first moved to Utah in 2009 I never expected to be able to do urban raptor photography from my living room window.
It is a chilly 29°F where I live in northern Utah on New Year's Day 2021 and from my living room window I can see that it is foggy outside.
I love to photograph birds on the wing. It doesn't matter if my subject is as small as a hummingbird, as large as an eagle, as slow as a gliding pelican, or as fast as a stooping falcon as long as it is a bird.
Some winters here in the Salt Lake Valley I see quite a lot Common Mergansers while in other years I only see a few. I'm hoping that this winter I will see plenty of these beautiful, sleek diving ducks.
I'm anxious to start photographing the ducks I see close to home during the winter here in the Salt Lake Valley and from what I understand a few Common Goldeneyes have shown up.
Among the duck species I look for during the winter are American Wigeons which are medium sized dabbling ducks.
Lately I've been seeing and hearing more and more Canada Geese close to home and that has made me start thinking about winter, snowstorms, whiteouts and high key images of birds.
This adult American Coot may look like it is screaming but in reality it is simply calling out because another bird got close to it next to the shoreline of a small pond.
Yesterday afternoon I spent thirty-one minutes photographing migrating Yellow-rumped Warblers close to home and those warblers kept me on my toes.
I took this photo of a Ring-billed Gull walking through the snow in whiteout conditions on December 30, 2019 at a pond not far from where I live.
Every winter since I moved to northern Utah in 2009 I have found a few Double-crested Cormorants overwintering at my local ponds but this winter has been very different.
When I notice an American Coot exhibiting patrolling behavior I will often aim my lens at them because there could possibly be a chase or fight within seconds.
I found it interesting to see a first winter drake Common Goldeneye swimming with a first winter Common Merganser and decided to photograph them.
I've grown to love and appreciate the mountain views I have here in Utah. When I can take photographs that combine my passion for birds with mountains in them I am one very happy woman.
The Pied-billed Grebe dunked its head then slapped its wings against the water vigorously which caused the icy water to fly in all directions.
I thought I was going to go home without any frame filling bird photos until this European Starling flew in and landed next to the water.
The longer I looked at the high key photos I took of this Ring-billed Gull in the snow the more I have enjoyed viewing them.