I've been seeing Redheads at my local pond over the winter but most of the time they have stayed on the other side of the pond so having this one up a bit closer and flapping his wings was a delight.
When some Canada Geese started swimming towards me I took a burst of photos hoping to get a at least one image where snow wasn't blocking the view of the eye of the goose in the front.
Canada Geese can look a little goofy when they are landing because they often use their wings, tails and even their feet as brakes to slow themselves down right before they land.
As I photographed this pair of Tundra Swans in flight I could hear the whir of their wings and the calls of the other swans that were still on the water and also getting ready to lift off.
The Tundra Swans are truly at home in the landscape of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and they belong there as much as the mountains, marshes, birds, animals, fish, sky and the clouds overhead do.
I'm glad that I made the trip down to the pond because I was able to photograph a drake Redhead exhibiting courtship display behavior several times as he tried to impress the hen that was nearby.
I had a blast photographing the Tundra Swans at the refuge yesterday and for the first time in a while I forgot about practically everything but the birds in front of me and the peace I find at the refuge.
Because I had noticed the Common Goldeneye drake's behavior I was able to photograph him as he assumed the Head-throw posture.
My favorite image of the day was this high key Mallard drake portrait that was taken in the late afternoon which was the only time I could see the sun behind the clouds the whole day.
I like how both these two American Wigeon photos turned out even though they were taken in different lighting conditions, they are both pleasing to my eye.
I locked on to one of the mallard drakes and when he flew past I was able to take some nice photos of him before he landed on the water
I can't be certain this is the same goose that I saw on December 26th but I found an immature Snow Goose feeding with some Canada Geese in the grass across the pond.
These two photos of Canada Geese were taken in very different lighting conditions and while both tested my skills as a bird photographer one of them required more thought from me and challenged my skills more too.
It is hard to figure out who is the lucky duck here, the Common Goldeneye for catching the crayfish or me for seeing the duck with the crayfish and photographing it.
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.