Chipping Sparrow, Mourning Dove and Changing Views
I couldn't resist photographing this tiny Chipping Sparrow singing while perched on a "cedar" fence post with the sky and dark juniper behind it.
I couldn't resist photographing this tiny Chipping Sparrow singing while perched on a "cedar" fence post with the sky and dark juniper behind it.
Yesterday morning in northern Utah I saw about a dozen Swainson's Hawks in about 2.25 miles, some were perched, some were in flight and all of them were wonderful to photograph.
I'm drawn to and fascinated by these western desert Burrowing Owls because they are beautiful, interesting and animated subjects. And they are pretty darn cute!
Brewer's Blackbirds are year round residents in northern Utah and in the autumn they form large flocks that move through open field looking for seeds and fallen grain.
I spent some time in the Centennial Valley of Montana yesterday and the best bird of the morning was this adult Prairie Falcon photographed on a cattle chute with a white cloud in the background.
I've been meaning to post images of this sub-adult Swainson's Hawk in low light for about a year now and I am finally getting around to it.
I haven't been seeing the Short-eared Owls lately and that is most likely because their young are now on their own and they don't need to hunt as much because now they only need to feed themselves.
I found an exceptionally obliging Turkey Vulture in Box Elder County warming up in the morning sun.
I was able to take quite a few images of a very cooperative first spring Northern Harrier that was perched on an old post next to the road in Box Elder County.
Yesterday it was the northern Utah Short-eared Owls that made me so very glad that I am a bird photographer and that for a little while I am part of their world.
This adult Western Kingbird close up was photographed two years ago on Antelope Island State Park as it perched on a sign post close to a nest site.
Turkey Vultures are Nature's clean up crew. They consume road kill and other dead animals and and in doing so they clean up the messy stuff.
I photographed this adult Bald Eagle at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge early on New Year's Day when the light of dawn was still golden.
When I photographed this Turkey Vulture in Box Elder County last summer it flew from the post it had been perched on and landed a bit further away where it quickly began cleaning its bill
Since the freezing temperatures arrived in my neighborhood I have been listening to a five o'clock Great-tailed Grackle cacophony nightly.
My favorite image from photographing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA is this high key Northern Flicker image taken near Glover's Pond.
I photographed this juvenile Northern Harrier as it perched on a post near Goose Egg Island at Farmington Bay.
Male American Kestrels usually grab the show with their bright colors and bold patterns but I think the females are equally as stunning.
Early on the second morning when I was in Montana last week I was able to photograph this male Northern Flicker on the side and top of a weathered fence post.
When I spotted this Mourning Dove perched on an old fence post in the morning light I couldn't resist photographing it.
My only wish for this image is that the butterfly had been as sharply in focus as the Short-eared Owl was but with bird photography you never know what might show up in the frame.
I wonder if this juvenile Swainson's made the long migration to South America and if I will see it again in the Centennial Valley of Montana this spring.
It was lovely to see the sunshine yesterday and to have the Western Meadowlark and Belted Kingfisher in my viewfinder.
I've been seeing plenty of American Kestrels lately but none have been close enough to get nice images of so I pulled this one out of my archives from 2010.
I saw a fleeting glimpse of a bird a few days ago that I suspect was a Merlin that migrated to winter here in Utah and it inspired me to post a few Merlin images today.
I have been seeing plenty of blackbirds lately at Farmington Bay WMA and a few days ago I photographed this preening Brewer's Blackbird on a fence post.
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to photograph a Merlin two mornings in a row in the Centennial Valley of Montana, once in low light and once as a fog rolled in.
This juvenile Swainson's Hawk was photographed earlier this month in Beaverhead County, Montana on a cloudy morning with low light.
In June I published several posts about a pair of Western Kingbirds nesting on Antelope Island State park but unfortunately that nesting attempt failed.
Some times when I am photographing I capture my subjects in funny poses and I think I did exactly that with this Mountain Bluebird female.