Poppies, Birds, Trees, Butterflies And A Smoky Haze

Blooming Prickly Poppy in a smoky haze at dawn

I hadn’t been out to the West Desert sky island mountains in Tooele County since the first week of June so a trip out there yesterday seemed to be in order. I wanted to check out what birds I could find along with anything else that caught my eyes. It was very smoky yesterday and the smoky haze was evident in some of my photos.

The first time I raised my lens yesterday morning it was for blooming Prickly Poppies that were along the shoulder of the bumpy gravel road. The poppy flowers glowed in the light of dawn even through the smoky haze. The delicate flowers are gorgeous but the prickly part of their name is well deserved. I would not want to touch them.

Young Red-tailed Hawk and a smoky haze

The first bird I photographed yesterday was a handsome young Red-tailed Hawk I spotted perched high on a dead branch of a tree with junipers in the background along with the smoky haze. The immature raptor didn’t do much except look around, call once, and preen a few of its feathers so I thanked the hawk and kept looking for more birds.

Adult Red-tailed Hawk perched on a Douglas Fir

The next bird I spotted was an adult Red-tailed Hawk in poor lighting conditions. The adult bird of prey moved to a Douglas Fir that was in great light but it didn’t do much either and when it finally lifted off it did so with its back to me. That happens often for bird photographers.

Douglas Fir cones in August

The adult Red-tailed Hawk on the Douglas Fir reminded me to check out the developing cones of the firs at higher elevations. I was relieved to see many cones on the Douglas Firs.

Why? Because they are bird food! When these cones ripen and open later this fall I know that I’ll be able to photograph birds coming to the trees for the seeds stored in the cones. The brown cones are from last season and are likely picked clean but the green cones will feed the birds throughout the colder months of the year.

White Fir cones in August

There are White Firs in the same area as the Douglas Firs but they typically only produce cones on the uppermost parts of the trees. I keep an eye on those cones too even though photographing birds at such steep angles is a challenge.

What I need to do for White Firs is find a mountainous back road that allows me a great, eye level view of the tops of the trees.

West Desert Weidemeyer’s Admiral butterfly

Later on I caught the movement of a black and white butterfly puddling near a creek. At first I thought I was photographing a White Admiral butterfly then I remembered that we don’t have White Admirals in western North America. Our black and white admiral butterflies here in the west are Weidemeyer’s Admirals. I photographed two of the butterflies in this location.

It wasn’t a very birdy morning and I truly hadn’t expected it to be. Most of the birds have already nested and their young have fledged and are feeding on their own. It will get busy again in the fall.

Salt Lake City in a smoky haze, August 4, 2021

On the way home I took a few photos of the smokey haze that filled the air. It was awful, made my eyes hurt, my head ache, my sinuses drip and looked utterly depressing. When I complain about the smoke from wildfire here this is what a view of Salt Lake City Looks like.

A front is supposed to come in later today that should help to clear out some of the smoke. For a day or two.

Life is good despite its problems.

Mia

Click here to see more of my flower, shrub and tree photos. Click here to see more of my Red-tailed Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here to see more of my insect and spider images.