American Wigeon Pair In Northern Utah
I wonder how long this pair of American Wigeons will hang around, I hope it is long enough for me to see more green iridescence on the drake's head and long enough for me to take more images of them.
I wonder how long this pair of American Wigeons will hang around, I hope it is long enough for me to see more green iridescence on the drake's head and long enough for me to take more images of them.
One of the drake Common Mergansers I saw yesterday flew over the pond and past me close enough for me to take two photos of it up close in the late evening light.
I love what I do, I love my subjects and it doesn't matter if I find them close to home or further away. I am blessed. 2017 has been wonderful and I am excited for what 2018 may bring.
Photographing the Mallards in flight in golden afternoon light was a terrific way to end my bird photography session for the evening.
I'm over the moon that I was able to photograph these Common Mergansers landing and lifting off from the pond yesterday and I am pleased with the photos I took.
I spent fifty-five minutes primarily focusing on male Common Goldeneyes yesterday afternoon and I am very happy with the images I took of these beautiful diving ducks.
The number of birds in a specific location can increase and decrease substantially from one day to the next and that happened with Common Goldeneyes at my local pond in northern Utah when their numbers increased considerably.
While at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago I spotted my first of the season Common Merganser from the auto tour route.
After bathing the Mallards lift up, flap their wings and shake the water off and I have also noticed them repeat the process of bathing several times in succession. Bathe, shake, flap.
I've been wondering if "my" Canada x Snow Goose hybrid will be back this winter, if it will show up at the same pond and if I will be able to photograph it again.
Redhead drakes are more colorful than the hens and I always enjoy having them in my viewfinder because of their cinnamon colored heads, their bright orange eyes and their tri-colored bills.
This pair of Canada Geese in flight had taken off and flew in front of a leafless willow when I photographed them close together while they were on the wing.
The Ruddy Duck hen was photographed at a pond close to where I live during the evening hours and I loved the golden light on the bird and on the water.
One of my fondest memories for photographing Trumpeter Swans happened on an evening of September of 2015 in southwestern Montana.
Back in February there was still snow on the ground, ice on the water and Common Mergansers were at Farmington Bay WMA and some were sporting their breeding plumage.
I don't often have the opportunity of taking photos of ducks that are flying straight at me while coming in for a landing which is exactly what this drake mallard did.
There are lots of Canada Geese near where I live in part because of the grassy golf course that is not too far away and because of the Jordan River and several small ponds that are just down the hill.
Some Tundra Swans migrate from the arctic tundra using the Great Basin hub of the Pacific flyway and huge flocks of them spend the winter here.
A few more changes in the Fifty-Eighth Supplement to the AOS Check-list have to do with dabbling ducks and "white geese".
I haven't seen many chicks yet this spring but yesterday I saw a Mallard hen with her ducklings swimming behind her on a local pond and I had to aim my lens at them.
Yesterday morning was bright and sunny and I had fun photographing Turkey Vultures at a corral, a hillside Canada Goose and a Red-tailed Hawk flying over with nesting materials in northern Utah.
It felt great to photograph a nice mixture of birds yesterday and and to be out enjoying the beautiful scenery of northern Utah. Life is good.
I saw and photographed a mated pair of Sandhill Cranes yesterday morning in the marsh from the auto tour loop and watched them search for food.
I am anxious to get out to the Bear River MBR auto tour loop of the refuge to see what migrants have flown in but right now that isn't possible and there isn't any information on when the road will open again
Some people might call these manky mallards homely, weird or even downright ugly but I prefer thinking of them as oddly beautiful and believe they are worthy of being showcased once in a while.
Because they are very common in most North America Canada Geese are often overlooked as subjects by some bird photographers.
Mallards form pairs in the fall and courtship can seen during the winter and seeing them mating in February isn't all that unusual.
I spent time photographing a few Rough-legged Hawks but my personal choice for birds of the day were the Common Mergansers I observed and photographed.
Early in January I photographed an American Coot being chased by two Mallards for the food it carried in its bill.
Several of the Gadwalls were tipping their heads under the water to feed when this drake started to flap his wings before settling back down on the water.