Photographing Drake Common Goldeneyes In A Territorial Dispute
Yesterday afternoon I was thrilled to be able to photograph two adult drake Common Goldeneyes in a territorial dispute on a pond as they moved across my field of view.
Yesterday afternoon I was thrilled to be able to photograph two adult drake Common Goldeneyes in a territorial dispute on a pond as they moved across my field of view.
The Canada Goose was unusual because it had spotted, white plumage on its head and I was able to take photos of both left and right profile views of its head.
In December I had eight minutes and twenty-four seconds to photograph this Hooded Merganser drake and every time I have gone to the local pond after that I have looked for him to be there again.
Yesterday there was a bit of light in the morning so I went to see if there were any birds that could be photographed at my local ponds and I was delighted when I heard the rattling call of a Belted Kingfisher.
So... 2020 has arrived and for me here in northern Utah that has brought gray skies, falling snow, low light, plenty of clouds and wintry weather.
The light was low, big flakes of snow were falling and the ice was covered in fluffy snow so that allowed me to take photos of a few birds that looked like they were posed on a blank, white canvas.
Usually by this time in December I've seen at least one Snow Goose to photograph but so far this year I haven't found one yet.
Looking at the extended forecast I see indications that it might snow here on Christmas Day.
It has been three years and one day since I took photos of a California Gull that had eyes that looked like snowflake obsidian.
This post is about this pretty little Mallard hen walking in the fresh snow that fell during the night two days ago.
I'm grateful when I can photograph a drake Common Goldeneye in flight during the "Golden Hour" or any other bird I see through my viewfinder.
Yesterday started off dreary but later in the afternoon I was able to get out in the field and I had a blast taking photos of a spiffy drake Hooded Merganser for a little while.
Birds that we might think are too delicate to survive the freezing temps, howling winds and driving snow can and do surprise us with their strength and tenacity.
During the winter when road conditions get bad enough to make me think about my personal safety driving on the interstate and other roads I enjoy being able to photograph urban birds much closer to home.
When I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge a few days ago I saw lots of ducks in the marshes and on the water and I realized that I am looking forward to photographing winter ducks again.
Even when I don't have any birds to view or photograph I am always looking for other subjects and yesterday my "other" subject was a turtle sunning itself on a log at one of my local ponds.
Ah, Mia, it is just a bird. No, it isn't just a bird. Because California Gulls aren't the only birds at risk of disappearing from the skies, shorelines and waters of Utah.
The Great Blue Heron had flown in and landed near the shoreline on the other side of the pond where the bank was covered with snow and the heron rested there for a bit.
One of the dragonflies I photographed back East was a female Common Whitetail that was resting on a sidewalk, this dragonfly let me get close enough to take nice images even with my cell phone.
The day I came home from camping in the West Desert the first bird calls I heard were from several Caspian Terns in flight overhead that were squabbling and diving at each other.
On one of the brighter afternoons I spent just 15 minutes at the local pond and came away with lots of photos of winter California Gulls bathing, flying and landing and among those I liked this image the most.
It isn't all that often that I am able to photograph a calling Ring-billed Gull close enough that I can get a great view of the inside of its bill so when the opportunity presented itself earlier this week I took advantage of the situation.
Two days ago on my immature Double-crested Cormorant post I mentioned that prior to photographing the cormorant that I had been taking images of a Great Blue Heron, these two photos are of that heron.
Two afternoons ago when I left the local pond to head home I saw at least 75-100 foraging American Robins in some crabapple trees and on the ground in the snow.
This immature Double-crested Cormorant appears to be molting and probably needs all the rest it can get because of the molt and because winter is hard on these overwintering cormorants.
This pair of Canada Geese were photographed last winter near the Jordan River close to where I live at the tail end of a storm similar to the storm occurring right now.
The slow chase was soon to change and before I knew it both Pied-billed Grebes started running across the water and the grebe with the crayfish started racing across the water with the crayfish dangling from its bill.
During the winter I'm able to see some of the ducks that I don't see during the breeding season here in northern Utah on the Jordan River including Common Goldeneyes.
An American Coot with a dirty bill wasn't shy at all when it climbed out of the pond close enough for me to take portraits of it.
I'm glad this Gadwall drake came in close so I could take a few photos of him before I turned my attention back to the pair of Hooded Mergansers.