Red-tailed Hawk Fledglings And Some Sad News
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.
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.
The ranges for these two species of kingbirds overlap here in northern Utah but I see more of the Western Kingbirds than I do the Eastern Kingbirds.
The young Mountain Bluebird turned and snatched the cricket from the male quickly before any of its siblings could reach the branches.
I saw the Red-tailed Hawk chicks near where the nest had been though and I spent less than two minutes with them and took a few images before leaving them alone.
People usually think of American Coot chicks as either cute or ugly, I'm in the cute camp when it comes to these chicks.
I have been very successful spotting Yellow-bellied Marmots and their pups the past few weeks in northern Utah and it has been a delight for me to photograph and observe them.
There was a very cooperative first spring male Northern Harrier in a location where I photographed Short-eared Owls last year in northern Utah and for two months I could reliably see and photograph it frequently.
The warm temps and wet weather have produced lush, green spring grasses and forbs and the Mule Deer are now able to find fresh food without snow cover
Two years ago in July I photographed this young Burrowing Owl on a post in morning light and I relaxed and let a smile form on my lips.
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!
Short-eared Owls are nomadic because they follow their main prey which is voles and if the vole population is low the Short-eared Owl density will also be low.
My best bird of the day was a juvenile Rough-legged Hawk standing on a jackrabbit in the snow that I spotted next to the road.
When I photographed this Rough-legged Hawk on a snow and lichen covered rock the light was decent and brought out the colors of the hawk and the orange lichen covering the rocky outcropping it was perched on.
Without science you would not see this Short-eared Owl chick photo. You are here viewing it through a device using an internet connection to connect to a page housed on a server.
Many of the birds here in the Salt Lake Valley find a place to roost in the evening and overnight frost begins to accumulate on their feathers like it did on this Rough-legged Hawk on a parking sign.
I think this Rough-legged Hawk has read one too many hysterical Tweets lately. I know I have.
As I focused on the Great Blue Heron I could tell it was an immature bird braving its first winter alone in the marshes of Farmington Bay.
This first year Red-tailed Hawk close up in the snow storm was a reminder of how much our birds and wildlife have to struggle to get through the harsh winter.
Two days ago I was surprised by being able to photograph a Common Merganser hunting close to the shoreline of a nearby pond in Salt Lake County.
The bird that started my day was an immature Prairie Falcon at sunrise next to the Great Salt Lake and as the sun started to rise the falcon seemed to glow.
The Great Blue Herons here in Utah are dealing with ice, snow and bitter cold temperatures now but the Great Blue Herons in Florida they have started courting and building their nests.
There are natural perches along the access roads right next to the interstate and if I am lucky I can find Red-tailed Hawks perched there on occasion too.
Is it any wonder I feel like the juvenile White-crowned Sparrow in this photo that is hiding its head? My inbox is getting junked up and my delete key is smoking from deleting the Cyber Monday sales pitches.
Last month I captured a series of images of an immature Pied-billed Grebe running across the water with prey in its bill at Farmington Bay WMA.
This time of the year I start looking for Peregrine Falcons to show up near the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake because of the high numbers of ducks that are usually there.
To the untrained eye American Bitterns and Black-crowned Night Herons can be confused so I thought I'd visually compare the two species with other keys to aid in their identification.
Yesterday I found a trio of young Raccoons at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and was able to take a series of images of them from inside my Jeep as they cautiously checked me out.
It was wonderful to be close to the juvenile Brown Pelican and to be able to take portraits of it plus I also enjoyed being able to see all the fine details of its plumage, the texture of its bill and look into its dark eyes.
I miss these young Short-eared Owls but I hope they are doing well and will return next year to breed and have young of their own.
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.