Christmas Day Bird Photos Through the Years
These are all birds I have photographed on Christmas Day through the years and all of them were photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.
These are all birds I have photographed on Christmas Day through the years and all of them were photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.
It was announced yesterday that the Burrowing Owl is the 2022 ABA Bird of the Year! Burrowing Owls are small, long-legged, sandy-colored, charismatic owls with bright yellow eyes.
It was early in the morning when I photographed this immature Common Merganser in a morning mist almost five years ago at my local pond.
Yesterday I heard a male Rough-legged Hawk calling which is highly unusual away from their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra and taiga of the far north.
Two days ago I spent just a few moments focused on a hatch year male Red-winged Blackbird perched in an Russian Olive tree near Glover Pond here in northern Utah.
I took this photo of a Ferruginous Hawk bathed in bright morning light back in October while I was out driving on dirt roads of the West Desert of Utah.
I photograph tons of Red-tailed Hawks. I have shared more Red-tailed Hawk articles on my blog and images in my photo galleries than any other birds species.
Last month I spotted a wing tagged American White Pelican on October 15th and saw it again on October 29th at Glover Pond and reported my sightings.
Last winter I missed seeing overwintering Double-crested Cormorants at my local ponds and in other locations in northern Utah where I typically see them.
I was looking through my archives yesterday when I came across this immature Black-billed Magpie portrait taken at sunrise on Antelope Island State Park.
I photographed this Eurasian Collared-Dove last week at Farmington Bay and noticed that it didn't have the dark collar usually seen on this species.
Our eyes can play tricks on us and that is what happened with this "headless" Red-tailed Hawk that I photographed last October at Farmington Bay WMA.
I selected this hatch year Great Blue Heron photo to share today because it showed the young bird taking a crap on the flats of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
When I was way up north in Box Elder County three days ago I had the opportunity to take immature White-crowned Sparrow photos with fall colors in the frames.
Monday morning I saw a group of three Mule Deer bucks slowly moving through tall vegetation in the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Nearly hidden in the marsh vegetation was an immature Black-crowned Night Heron perched on some phrags at the edge of the water.
About a week ago I photographed a young Pied-billed Grebe that was still in juvenal plumage on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA.
Yesterday on the last full day of summer I found a couple of hawks in the West Desert including this immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk.
When I spotted the light colored breast of this immature light morph Red-tailed Hawk from a distance it seemed to glow in the morning light.
I went out into the West Desert yesterday and came back with more Red-tailed Hawk images that I was delighted to have taken and that I am happy with.
This photo of an immature White-crowned Sparrow perched on a lichen covered rock has some of the colors of fall in it.
Yesterday morning I photographed a small herd of Mule Deer in a smoky haze while I was looking for birds in the West Desert.
Last month I had a brief photo session with a young Song Sparrow near a creek in bright morning light high in the Wasatch Mountains.
Sage Thrashers are only in Utah for their breeding season and by now all their chicks have fledged and are feeding on their own.
Yesterday I had just a few moments to focus on a young Western Wood-Pewee that showed up in front of a thicket of hawthorns in the mountains.
I was thrilled to have an immature Common Yellowthroat out in the open and in my viewfinder two days ago high in the Wasatch Mountains.
When I photographed this immature Lazuli Bunting three years ago today these images were eclipsed by me finding a rare Baltimore Oriole in the same area of the Wasatch Mountains.
Do you remember playing I Spy when you were a child? I do.
I was looking through my older images and came across this one of a hatch year Spotted Sandpiper on some rocks at Bear River MBR.
This young Cedar Waxwing may look like it is yawning, calling, or begging for food because of its wide open bill.