Northern Pintail drake at Farmington Bay, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, UtahNorthern Pintail drake at Farmington Bay – Nikon D810, f9, 1/500, ISO 320, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4 x TC, natural light

I spent the yesterday morning photographing with two great friends at Antelope Island State Park and Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area and had a wonderful time.

At Farmington Bay I missed a few shots of Northern Harriers in flight because I didn’t get focused on them in time but I was delighted to find a drake Northern Pintail where I could take frame filling images of him in his breeding plumage.

Drake Northern Pintail on a January morning, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, UtahDrake Northern Pintail – Nikon D810, f9, 1/500, ISO 320, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4 x TC, natural light

I think of all the ducks in North American that Northern Pintails look the most; for lack of a better word, distinguished. They are elegant and beautifully marked. I took tons of images of this drake and will have to spend quite a bit of time sorting through them.

Male American Kestrel perched on an antennaeMale American Kestrel perched on an antennae – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 320, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4 x TC, natural light, not baited

This male American Kestrel was also at Farmington Bay perched on a pickup antennae which seems like an odd place for a kestrel to perch but the pickup was parked close to a field and literally gave this tiny falcon a “bird’s eye view”.  He was also a fairly sticky bird and all three of us were able to get images of him before he flew to another spot.

Grazing American Bison on a January dayGrazing American Bison on a January day – Nikon D810, f10, 1/1000, ISO 320, -1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm, FX mode, natural light

And earlier on Antelope Island we found a couple of American Bison bulls pushing their noses into the snow to uncover the dried grasses beneath it. I just can’t get enough bison in the snow images.

Bison bull grazing through the snowBison bull grazing through the snow – Nikon D810, f13, 1/400, ISO 320, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm, FX mode, natural light

I love the thick, dark winter coat of the bison against the pure white snow and those huge faces with snow-covered muzzles.

It was a wonderful morning spent with friends, birds, great views and wildlife.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Northern Pintail photos, here for American Kestrels, and here for American Bison images.