{"id":14981,"date":"2014-05-17T05:55:38","date_gmt":"2014-05-17T11:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=14981"},"modified":"2026-10-23T09:38:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T14:38:45","slug":"highlights-from-yesterdays-trip-to-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/05\/17\/highlights-from-yesterdays-trip-to-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Highlights From Yesterdays Trip To Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MuskratMuskrat in morning light – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/250, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/a> is always a delight and I never know exactly what I might see when I am there which suits my spontaneous nature\u00a0perfectly. Some of the highlights yesterday morning included seeing a Muskrat out of the water gathering food in the golden light of dawn. Normally I only get to photograph them in the water so it was wonderful to have this one on the shore.<\/p>\n

\"Double-crestedDouble-crested Cormorant drying out\u00a0– Nikon D300, handheld, f8, 1\/200, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Double-crested Cormorants in Florida were well adjusted to human traffic and could appear quite tame but here in Utah it seems much harder to approach them so I was pleased when this one allowed me to take images of it. The cormorant was drying itself after feeding.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Marsh-Wren searching for nesting material\u00a0– Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Western Marsh-Wrens at the refuge are busy singing, guarding territories and building nests right now and this one appeared to be searching for nesting material while it sang over the distant calls of Franklin’s Gulls, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds along with Western and Clark’s Grebes.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Grebe eating a crayfish\u00a0– Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/500, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I’m used to seeing Western Grebes dive and come up with fish to eat but when I saw this one surface it had a Crayfish in its bill. Oh how I wish the light had been better but I am happy with this image despite the light. It is the first series I have of this species chowing down on a mud-bug!<\/p>\n

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a great location to see birds, scenery and other wildlife and to feel nature envelop all of your senses. And you just never know what you might see there.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my bird photos.<\/p>\n

Update<\/strong>: Marsh wrens were split in October 2026 to Eastern and Western Marsh-Wrens. This post has been updated to reflect that change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is always a delight and I never know exactly what I might see when I am there which suits my spontaneous nature perfectly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[124,27,1148,144,2543,26,161,538],"tags":[699,17605,2545,2544,149,226,4173,4035,2466,4014,17606,4032],"class_list":["post-14981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-double-crested-cormorant","category-muskrats","category-utah","category-western-grebes","category-marsh-wrens","tag-aechmophorus-occidentalis","tag-cistothorus-paludicola","tag-crawdad","tag-crayfish","tag-double-crested-cormorant","tag-muskrat","tag-nannopterum-auritus","tag-nature-photography","tag-ondatra-zibethicus","tag-western-grebe","tag-western-marsh-wren","tag-wildlife-photography"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t