Shorebirds

Flock Of American Avocets At Farmington Bay

By |2024-02-28T10:18:34-07:00February 28th, 2024|Categories: American Avocets, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

On my last trip to Farmington Bay WMA, I was delighted to have a resting flock of American Avocets in my viewfinder. Seeing these shorebirds delights me.

Autumn Snipe Photos And Common Name Changes

By |2023-11-17T12:13:02-07:00November 17th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wilson's Snipes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The last time I visited Bear River MBR, I took quite a few photos of Wilson's Snipes. I also wondered what the new name for this snipe species will soon be.

Wilson’s Snipe Portraits From Bear River MBR

By |2023-11-17T04:02:06-07:00October 31st, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wilson's Snipes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning, I was beyond thrilled to take several Wilson's Snipe portraits in frosty grasses while I was on the auto tour loop at Bear River MBR.

Fall Killdeer at Bear River MBR

By |2023-10-29T04:21:05-06:00October 29th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Killdeer, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Since moving to Utah, I have seen and photographed Killdeer in every month of the year. It was no surprise that I found several at Bear River MBR last Monday.

Watchful male Black-necked Stilt At Bear River MBR

By |2023-08-28T07:03:19-06:00August 28th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-necked Stilts, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One year ago today, I photographed this male Black-necked Stilt from the north side of the auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

Lesser Yellowlegs – Time To Be On The Lookout For Them

By |2023-08-27T05:09:54-06:00August 27th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Lesser Yellowlegs, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is not too soon to be on the lookout for Lesser Yellowlegs migrating through northern Utah, as shorebird migration can start as early as July.

Kamas Valley Killdeer

By |2023-08-23T04:46:11-06:00August 23rd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Kamas Valley, Killdeer, Summit County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week, in the Kamas Valley in Summit County, Utah I was pleased to take Killdeer photos in a wet meadow with pink clovers and piles of cow manure.

Least Sandpiper In Kamas Valley

By |2023-08-20T04:45:08-06:00August 20th, 2023|Categories: Bird ID, Birds, Kamas Valley, Least Sandpipers, Summit County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The most surprising and wonderful bird I saw and photographed on Thursday with my friend, April Olson, was a migrating Least Sandpiper in the Kamas Valley.

Springtime Grebe And Avocet Portraits

By |2023-05-03T03:26:22-06:00May 3rd, 2023|Categories: American Avocets, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Western Grebes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I am sharing two springtime portraits that I took last week at Bear River MBR. The first is a Western Grebe, the second, an American Avocet.

Killdeer In A Spring Snowstorm

By |2023-04-05T03:19:09-06:00April 5th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Killdeer, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning, after blowing, shoveling, and scraping about nine to ten inches of snow, I went looking for birds and found a Killdeer in a spring snowstorm.

Snow Weary And Needing A Bird Fix

By |2023-03-31T04:26:28-06:00March 31st, 2023|Categories: American Avocets, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Marsh Wrens, Red-winged Blackbirds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

More fresh snow on the ground this morning. I am snow weary. What I need is a bird, nature, gone exploring in the wild fix with no real or clear return time.

Greater Yellowlegs Trio In Early Morning Light

By |2022-10-19T03:26:17-06:00October 19th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Greater Yellowlegs, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

While I was at Farmington Bay WMA two days ago I saw a small flock of Greater Yellowlegs foraging, preening and resting in the wetlands in early morning light.

Lesser And Greater Yellowlegs Comparison

By |2022-09-17T03:15:27-06:00September 17th, 2022|Categories: Bird ID, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On Monday, I photographed both Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs foraging in a shallow duckweed-covered pond at Farmington Bay WMA early in the morning.

Lesser Yellowlegs Photos From Farmington Bay

By |2022-09-14T04:46:30-06:00September 14th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Lesser Yellowlegs, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Monday morning I was delighted to find and photograph a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs foraging and moving around a pond covered in duckweed at Farmington Bay WMA.

Greater Yellowlegs And Pickleweed Photos

By |2022-09-04T03:49:03-06:00September 4th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Greater Yellowlegs, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On my last trip up to Bear River MBR I had a Greater Yellowlegs land close to me in pickleweeds while I was parked on the north side of the auto tour route.

Two Phalarope Species At Bear River MBR

By |2023-10-31T03:17:47-06:00August 30th, 2022|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Red-necked Phalaropes, Utah, Wilson's Phalaropes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago after leaving the auto tour route at Bear River MBR I was able to photograph two phalarope species in a wetlands that were feeding side by side.

Young Killdeer At Bear River MBR

By |2022-08-16T03:37:53-06:00August 16th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Killdeer, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning I drove up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where the second bird that I photographed was a young Killdeer in the early light of dawn.

Semipalmated Plover Images

By |2021-10-29T06:02:44-06:00October 29th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Semipalmated Plovers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While rifling through my archives I came across some of my Semipalmated Plover photos that I took on the north beach at Fort De Soto County Park in 2008.

Migrating Greater Yellowlegs

By |2021-09-21T03:55:10-06:00September 21st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Greater Yellowlegs, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Greater Yellowlegs migrate starting in the summer until late in the fall and return early in the spring. I will be seeing them until about December here in Utah.

Willet, Sunrise And The Gulf Of Mexico

By |2021-09-07T05:15:29-06:00September 7th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Willets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I look at this photo of a Willet in the waves of the Gulf of Mexico I can almost hear the sounds, taste the tang of salt in the air and feel the warm water on my skin.

Sharing Sunrise With A Greater Yellowlegs

By |2021-08-17T06:11:56-06:00August 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Greater Yellowlegs, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I lived in Florida it wasn't unusual for me to share sunrise alone with birds at the north beach of Fort De Soto. Thirteen years ago I did just that with a Greater Yellowlegs.

Hatch Year Spotted Sandpiper at Bear River MBR

By |2021-08-10T05:30:55-06:00August 10th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Spotted Sandpipers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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.

Spotted Sandpiper Chick Photos

By |2021-07-26T06:30:00-06:00July 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Spotted Sandpipers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I haven't seen any Spotted Sandpiper chicks in a location in the Wasatch Mountains where I normally see them at this time of the year but I have these from last summer.

Twelve Years In Utah

By |2021-07-10T07:30:34-06:00July 10th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Red-necked Phalaropes, Utah, Wilson's Phalaropes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Twelve years ago this morning I woke in Grand Island, Nebraska. I was a little more than 800 miles from my destination of Salt Lake City.

One Spotted Sandpiper That Is No More

By |2023-12-16T02:31:31-07:00July 7th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Spotted Sandpipers, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I watched as the mink dashed across the shallow creek with the sandpiper in its jaws, climbed over a log, and out of my sight. That Spotted Sandpiper is no more.

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