Adult Snow Goose on Willow Pond
There were several hundred Canada Geese on the pond and because I have seen reports of Cackling and Snow Geese in the area I scanned the pond with my lens and spotted a lone Snow Goose.
There were several hundred Canada Geese on the pond and because I have seen reports of Cackling and Snow Geese in the area I scanned the pond with my lens and spotted a lone Snow Goose.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph the continuing male Belted Kingfisher with the snow-covered marsh in the background, a few times he even had prey.
Near the auto tour route though I saw what appeared to be 250 to 300 Red-breasted Mergansers on the Bear River. I think it was the largest raft of Red-breasted Mergansers I have ever seen.
I am thankful for living as long as I have and for being able to live my life the way I want to and to be able to pursue my passion of bird, wildlife and nature photography.
I had fun photographing a male Belted Kingfisher at Farmington Bay as he caught prey and ate it on a post near a little creek.
On the last day of 2015 I photographed this Song Sparrow without a tail on Antelope Island State Park during the early morning while frost still clung to branch the sparrow was perched on.
I photographed this California Gull hovering over the Bear River with the snow covered Promontory Mountains in the back ground while it looked for prey in the open water below.
Well, it finally snowed in the Salt Lake Valley last night and when I woke there was a layer of snow on the grass outside my window.
I am so glad the American Bison were saved from extinction and that I see the Antelope Island State Park herd as often as I do.
We do see Herring Gulls in northern Utah during the winter and I was able to photograph this one as it circled over the water with the snow-covered Promontory Mountains and sky behind it.
There were at least 50 Ring-billed Gulls at Bear River MBR diving into the open water looking for fish that winter morning which gave me plenty of chances to photograph them.
Earlier this year in January I was able to photograph a American Barn Owl in flight flying directly towards me with the snowy Promontory Mountains in the background while at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Red-breasted Mergansers do not breed in Utah, they breed much further north in Alaska, across northern Canada to New Newfoundland and the Great Lakes of Michigan but they do migrate through this area.
American Coots have interesting behaviors that I like to try to capture, for instance the way they run across the surface of the water during territorial chases.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge hosts up to 13,000 Tundra Swans during November through December where they utilize the freshwater wetland habitats on the refuge.
This American Goldfinch feeding upside down on seeds over the snow-covered field has always made me chuckle a bit because of the pose of the finch.
Last winter I photographed adult and juvenile White-crowned Sparrows in the snow in low light conditions and was pleased with the resulting photos.
This is National Wildlife Refuge Week and in celebration I wanted to do a pictorial essay that includes some of my images of the Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
When I photographed this bison bull grazing on a crisp January morning I recall how cold my hands and cheeks were and that I could hear the crunching sounds the bull made as he ate.
I was able to lock on to the Herring Gull in flight with a sea urchin in its bill when it was close enough to me to fill the frame, it was almost too close at that point.
I've always loved this image of a Forster's Tern in flight because the pose is wonderful and the tern looks elegant against the gray of a distant storm cloud.
It will take several molts before this immature Ring-billed Gull looks like an adult but by now, a year after it was photographed, this juvenile should look more like the adult.
While walking the boardwalk at the small rookery I was able to get close to this Great Egret that was resting under the canopy of a large tree and took this portrait of it.
Temps were probably in the teens when I photographed this juvenile harrier in January of 2010 at Farmington Bay. Ahhh.
I was photographing a pair of cranes foraging on the ground when a pair of Sandhill Cranes calling in flight flew over and I took a series of images of them.
I was able to get a few images of a Golden Eagle yesterday morning as it perched on some huge, ancient boulders in early morning light.
Watching and photographing the Tundra Swans lifting off from Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday was slightly bittersweet for me because I know they will soon be heading north to mate.
Seeing these uncommon Western Bluebirds in Tooele County in the Stansbury Mountain Range yesterday is part of why I love bird photography so much.
I took this image of the Piping Plover on a shell covered beach right after the sun came up when the light had that sweet golden tone to it
At the end of January there was a nice, clear morning at Farmington Bay WMA and I spotted a juvenile female Northern Harrier in a field of snow next to the road who was a cooperative subject.