Our American Tree Sparrows Will Soon Be Winging Their Way North
Before too long these small but handsome American Tree Sparrows will be winging their way north to their breeding grounds in the thickets and open tundra of northern Canada and Alaska.
Before too long these small but handsome American Tree Sparrows will be winging their way north to their breeding grounds in the thickets and open tundra of northern Canada and Alaska.
At one of the burrows where I photographed Yellow-bellied Marmot pups in the spring there was one pup of the five that had a paler face than the other four had and I thought that was interesting.
I think that both male and female California Quail are striking birds with their head plumes, facial feather patterns, earth toned plumage and scaled underparts so whenever I see them I want to photograph them.
The first time I remember seeing Cattle Egrets I was a child who had just moved to interior Florida, I think I was in the second grade at the time or about 7 to 8 years old and these white birds that followed cattle around seemed so fascinating and exotic to me.
In October I spotted a Coyote walking in the shallow water of the Great Salt Lake from the causeway to Antelope Island in pre-dawn light where the water was reflecting the pink clouds of daybreak.
Yesterday an early morning session with a Coyote, the Great Salt Lake and some rocks made my day, I was so very happy to photograph the "Song Dog".
There are big differences in the ways I photograph Greater Yellowlegs here in Utah than there were when I photographed them in Florida.
Florida is about as far north as Limpkins are found in North America and they can be seen in freshwater marshes, ponds, lakeshores and swamps.
I spotted two of the other Red-tailed Hawk chicks that I have been following since early spring and was delighted that they have now fledged and have both learned to fly.
Normally I prefer natural perches for my subjects but I rather enjoyed photographing these Turkey Vultures and thinking of them as feathered gatekeepers.
When I found this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk on a lichen covered boulder in Idaho I took a little over 160 frames of it.
I thought the invisible fence made this roadside Swainson's Hawk in rural Montana an interesting subject to share.
It isn't every day that I add a lifer to the list of shorebirds I have seen and photographed but yesterday I did when I saw and photographed a Pectoral Sandpiper.
As we go into a holiday weekend filled with loud noises and flashes of fireworks I wanted to share something more peaceful, a simple image of a Willet walking on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico.
The first bird I photographed on my recent trip to Idaho and Montana was a White-faced Ibis in full breeding plumage.
The Chukars are singing from the rocks in the morning and if I am lucky I might be able to photograph them fighting over the hens again like I did three years ago.
I've been missing Chukars on Antelope Island for the past few months.
The weather forecast for today isn't as bright as it was on the day last January when I photographed this Chukar walking across a field of fresh snow instead the forecast for today is rather dreary.
I actually like the backgrounds in each of these images, all of them show the habitat that Tricolored Herons might be found in and highlight the birds too.
American Oystercatchers were among my favorite shorebirds to photograph at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach when I lived in Florida.
Yes, more Chukars in the snow! I spotted this Chukar on top of a mound of snow that the plow had pushed to the side of the road on Antelope Island State Park.
While looking for birds to photograph I spotted a pair of Coyotes hunting and roaming through the snow-covered landscape together.
It was an unusual experience to see these Pied-billed Grebes standing upright and walking on the edge of this pond, some might even consider it rare.
Just a single image of a Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa) that strolled past me while I sat in the water photographing it. Every time I look at this image I feel a wonderful sense of peace, the same feeling I had when I took this photo.
There were high thin clouds and that worked in my favor to photograph these large white birds without blowing out the whites.