Swans, Ducks and Geese

Ducks On The Wing Over The Marsh At Bear River MBR

By |March 12th, 2022|Categories: American Wigeons, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Green-winged Teals, Mallards, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I took this photo of ducks on the wing over the marsh on my most recent trip up to the wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

Fifteen Tundra Swan Photos For Swan Day 2022

By |March 11th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This past Monday while I was enjoying the peace and solitude of the auto tour route at Bear River MBR I took hundreds of Tundra Swan photos from inside my Jeep.

Drake Northern Pintail Lift Off Images

By |March 8th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Pintails, Utah, Video|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I drove up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning and came home with some drake Northern Pintail lift off images that I am pleased with.

Lesser Scaup Hen And Drake At Bear River MBR

By |March 3rd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Lesser Scaups, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On my last trip up to Bear River MBR I had a brief opportunity to photograph a Lesser Scaup hen next to the auto tour loop as she flapped her wings.

Northern Utah Winter Waterfowl Photo

By |February 27th, 2022|Categories: American Wigeons, Birds, Canada Geese, Great Blue Herons, Mallards|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The photo I liked the most from yesterday was of winter waterfowl on a small pond with mist rising from the water and hoar frost covering the vegetation. 

Drake Hooded Merganser On The Bear River

By |February 22nd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Hooded Mergansers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Earlier this month I stopped to take photos of a drake Hooded Merganser floating on the Bear River before the sun lit up that part of the refuge.

Trumpeter Swan Photos From Bear River MBR

By |February 21st, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Bird ID, Birds, Box Elder County, Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I was at Bear River MBR two days ago I was excited to be able to take a nice series of Trumpeter Swan photos on the west side of the auto tour loop.

Canada Geese Are Pairing Up – Signs Of Spring

By |February 15th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Canada Geese, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On my last couple of trips up to Bear River MBR I have noticed that the Canada Geese have already started pairing up which is a definite sign of spring.

February Tundra Swan Photos Plus Some Very Early Sandhill Cranes

By |February 11th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Sandhill Cranes, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Late last month I mentioned that I hadn't yet gotten the Tundra Swan photos that I wanted to take. Yesterday at Bear River MBR I was delighted to remedy that situation.

First Winter Common Merganser On The Bear River

By |January 31st, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Mergansers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On my last two trips up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I've stopped long enough to photograph a first winter Common Merganser on the Bear River.

Tundra Swans On Ice And Open Water

By |January 29th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I haven't yet gotten the photos of Tundra Swans this year that I would like to take but that won't stop me from sharing some that I have taken this winter.

Bathing Canvasback Hen And The Story Behind The Images

By |January 25th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Canvasbacks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I photographed this bathing Canvasback hen three days ago at a pond close to home I was really happy to see her doing well and doing what ducks do.

First Winter Common Goldeneye Drake Images

By |January 24th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago I spent a lot of time focused on a first winter Common Goldeneye drake as he swam, foraged, and ate at an urban pond close to home.

Canada Goose In Flight – My First Bird Sighting Of 2022

By |January 2nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The first bird that I could positively identify seeing for 2022 was a Canada Goose flying away from my local pond yesterday morning.

The Tail End of 2021 – My Year End Report

By |December 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As the tail end of 2021 comes to a close it seemed fitting that the last photo I took yesterday was the tail end of a Common Goldeneye on what might have been my last trip into the field this year.

Christmas Day Birds 2021

By |December 26th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Birds, California Gulls, Common Goldeneyes, Great Blue Herons, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.

Christmas Day Bird Photos Through the Years

By |December 25th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

These are all birds I have photographed on Christmas Day through the years and all of them were photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.

Great Egret, Mallards and Hooded and Common Mergansers On The Bear River

By |December 23rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Mergansers, Great Egrets, Hooded Mergansers, Mallards, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Great Egret landed where I had views of Hooded and Common Mergansers and three Mallards resting on the ice on the Bear River.

Female Hooded Merganser Lifting Off From The Bear River

By |December 10th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Hooded Mergansers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I spotted a single female Hooded Merganser on the Bear River two days ago and photographed her as she ran on top of the water to lift off.

Remembering Higher Water In The Great Salt Lake

By |November 29th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Conservation, Davis County, Green-winged Teals, Northern Shovelers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I came across this photo of a Green-winged Teal with Northern Shovelers in the surf of the Great Salt Lake that I took in December of 2011 yesterday. It was a punch in the gut.

Help With Drake Scaup Identification

By |November 28th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Greater Scaups, Lesser Scaups, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Every fall and winter when Lesser and Greater Scaups are seen in northern Utah I hear questions about scaup identification.

Drake Northern Shoveler Landing On A Chilly Pond

By |November 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Shovelers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I am sharing a simple photo of a drake Northern Shoveler landing on a chilly pond that I took in early December of last year.

Ruddy Ducks In Flight

By |November 24th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A few days ago I saw someone say that they rarely saw photos of Ruddy Ducks in flight and I remembered I had a series of them flying past taken 11 years ago.

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