Solitary Sandpiper at Bear River MBR – Not All Range Maps Are The Same
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 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.
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.
I was able to take several images of this hungry Western Grebe chick begging to be fed and laughed out loud when I saw this funny face through my view finder.
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!
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.
The American Avocets look a bit different now than they did earlier in the year because they are now in their paler, less colorful nonbreeding plumage.
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.
The bird I was looking at wasn't a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron at all, it was an adult American Bittern out in the open!
I liked the crouched position of this Snowy Egret as it was about to strike the prey it was hunting and when it struck it did capture and eat the small fish.
Killdeer chicks are precocial and active soon after hatching and will leave the nest as soon as their down dries.
On the day I photographed this Wood Duck hen with her duckling the duckweed covered the surface.
Because I was close I wasn't able to get a single image with all of the ducklings and the hen in the frame so I focused on the Mallard hen and with one duckling resting right behind her.
I spent the morning at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday and one of the birds I photographed the most was this resting Double-crested Cormorant.
One of my favorite things is to see is squadrons of American White Pelicans wheeling in the sky high overhead circling until they are out of sight.
When I photographed these two Snowy Egrets at Bear River MBR last August they were already through raising their young for the season.
Last August I was a bit surprised to see a House Wren at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge from the auto tour loop around the marshes there.
It is breeding season for Killdeer at Bear River MBR and for all of Utah.
When I photographed this Forster's Tern hovering over prey there were several others in the area doing the same thing which makes it difficult to decide on which bird to photograph.
I eagerly anticipate the birds that arrive with spring including an early spring Western Grebe who will soon be courting and rushing at the refuge.
After they burn the phragmites it doesn't take long for life to go back to normal for some of the birds like this Killdeer in a burned area.
These images of a Great Blue Heron at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge were taken last September on the auto tour route at the refuge.
Last year in mid August I photographed a very cooperative juvenile Barn Swallow at Bear River MBR and realized I hadn't posted any images of the bird or written about my encounter with it.
Last August I was able to spend time observing and photographing this juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron stalking prey at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
I thought a comparison of adult and juvenile White-faced Ibis might be interesting for those of you who aren't familiar with this western species of ibis.
The Snowy Egrets of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge never fail to delight me with their bright white plumage, golden feet, bright yellow lores and feathery plumes.
I went looking for a Snowy Owl and got Barn Owls in flight instead at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
There isn't much open water right now but in a few places where it is open it attracts waterfowl including this bathing Common Merganser male in breeding plumage.
I took this image of a Western Grebe in late Summer last year at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when the marsh vegetation has started to turn gold and mornings had begun to feel crisp and invigorating.
Ring-billed and California Gulls are the typical gulls I find in Utah so it wasn't much of a surprise to find this California Gull at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
It is interesting to see this whirlpool effect of Northern Shovelers on the surface of the Great Salt Lake and to hear the sounds of their bills dabbling in the water.