Last year I found plenty of Monarch Butterflies on the Rocky Mountain Bee Plants on Antelope Island and they were a delight to photograph as they fluttered around going from flower to flower sipping nectar from the delicate blossoms.
Last week while I was up in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains I spotted a female Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly nectaring on a Musk Thistle so I felt I had to take photos of she sipped the nectar of the flower.
Today I am keeping it short and sweet and sharing one photo of a male American Goldfinch perched on a dried Musk Thistle blossom plus a short video clip I took of him as he lifted off and flew away.
I'm going to ask for help later on today from bugguide.net with the identification of this fritillary butterfly. I don't normally have to ask for identification assistance but I need it for this other thing with wings.
A flash of yellow, black and white on a purple flower immediately drew my eyes to a male American Goldfinch feasting on the seeds of a Musk Thistle so I stopped, turned my Jeep off and proceeded to photograph the bird.
Showy Milkweeds are an important source of nectar for butterflies, especially Monarch Butterflies who not only use them as a nectar source but also use them for laying their eggs on and as a larval host.
I enjoyed my time yesterday morning photographing the Gray Catbird and the Hound's Tongue in bloom but I really wish I had been as happy with my catbird photos as I am the wildflower images.
Three days ago there was some Mountain Goldenbanner blooming next to a creek in the canyons of the Wasatch Mountains and I simply had to take some photos of these bright yellow wildflowers.
The wildflowers I photographed are Desert Globemallows (Sphaeralcea ambigua) and they were blooming abundantly on the road to the jetty, I don't think I have seen so many of them in full bloom before.
There may be a bit of sunshine today and I hope there is so me and my Mom can get out and enjoy some of the beauty that Mother Nature provides us with each and every day.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph a male Horned Lark on Antelope Island State Park that included Redstem Filaree in the photos and I was delighted, that pop of bright color sure says "spring" to me.
A few nights ago I opened the door to check out the cloud cover and weather conditions before going to bed and for the first time since I moved to Utah I heard a flock of calling Killdeer flying past in the pitch black night.
Last week while photographing birds in northern Utah I saw a wild rose whose leaves and rose hips had turned a brilliant scarlet color for fall.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets are tiny little songbirds weighing in at a mere 0.23 ounces but what they lack in size they make up for in high-powered energy, they just don't sit still.
It has been a long time since I have had such a birdy day and the towhees, warblers, kinglets, gnatcatchers and the rest of the birds that I saw thrilled me all morning long.
Earlier this year in July I spent some time in the Centennial Valley of southwestern Montana where I photographed this Gardner's Yampah near Elk Lake.
I took this photo of two Pine Siskins in the autumn of 2015 as they perched together on a wild sunflower at Farmington Bay WMA where they appeared to be having a tiff over the seeds.
This Western Meadowlark perched on a blooming Rabbitbrush the first September after I had moved to Utah and I was thrilled to take this photograph on Antelope Island State Park.
I don't know what species of wildflowers these blue flowers are, I just know that I enjoyed seeing and photographing them.
Photographing birds while they are flying can be challenging and photographing Monarch Butterflies in flight can be just as challenging to do too.
Finding birds was very challenging yesterday in the canyons of the Stansbury Mountains but it wasn't hard to find beauty in the scenery.
Streambank Globemallow has a few common names including Wild Hollyhock, Mountain Hollyhock, Mountain Globemallow and Streambank Wild Hollyhock
Each Prickly Poppy flower is about 3 to 5 inches across with yellow centers of clustered stamens and delicate petals that look like white crepe paper.
One of my favorite wildflowers is Lewis's Flax, I love how the blossoms move in a breeze because it seems like they are dancing and their blue color is appealing to my eyes.
Two mornings ago I photographed the side lit male Burrowing Owl with wildflowers in the background but with all the rain we have been having it won't be long before the vegetation completely obscures the burrow and the owls.
It was challenging to photograph these Burrowing Owls and wildflowers yesterday in the windy conditions but I am glad I had the opportunity because the wildflowers won't last all that long.
Yesterday morning was bright and sunny and I had fun photographing Turkey Vultures at a corral, a hillside Canada Goose and a Red-tailed Hawk flying over with nesting materials in northern Utah.
My journey in life has taken me to many places and I'm glad that it brought me to Utah where I am enjoying photographing birds, wildlife and scenery. Seven years ago today.
Yesterday morning while in Box Elder County I was delighted to photograph a Western Kingbird with a Hint of Black Mustard in the background as it perched on a fence near the road.
As many of my readers know I like to take portraits of the birds and animals I photograph but I also like to take images that show my subjects smaller in their native habitat.