Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
Fluffy little chicks are adorable, they make people "ohh" and "aww" and those that hit the ground running not long after hatching are especially appealing to some folks. But they need respect and they need space so we don't endanger them.
Summertime is upon us now and with it comes loads of people participating in outdoor activities like hiking, sports, camping and activities on the water. Everyone looks forward to warmer weather after winter but some of those activities can impact birds and wildlife.
There are two subspecies of Willets which Western and Eastern, here in Utah I only see the Western subspecies but in Florida I could see both during the course of a year.
I hope the Pronghorn we do have continue to flourish because they are majestic creatures and the western landscape wouldn't be the same without them.
I actually like the backgrounds in each of these images, all of them show the habitat that Tricolored Herons might be found in and highlight the birds too.
These are but a few of the birds I photographed this week in various Utah locations and all of them made great subjects!
Yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge there were two American White Pelicans that were close enough to photograph as they floated on the Bear River, it was a cloudless morning so the river was a gorgeous blue which always sets off the whites of these big, beautiful birds.
Just a simple Willet image today that I took on Antelope Island State Park earlier this month.
This Western Meadowlark lifted off from a Sagebrush and I was able to track it and capture this image as soon as it was airborne. I've found it difficult to get images of Western Meadowlarks in flight because they move so quickly.
Sometimes I take the shot despite knowing that I am not shooting in optimal conditions, most of the time the results are awful but once in awhile I actually enjoy the final image.
White Ibis can be strange looking birds to people who have never seen them before, they have soft, sky blue eyes, skinny legs, long necks and a bill that could be compared to Jimmy Durante's nose.
Brewer's Sparrows were abundant at the location where I photographed Ospreys close to the Flaming Gorge Reservoir last week and it seemed like they sang every time they popped up on top of the Sagebrush in the area.
Last year at about this same time these Ospreys were busy building their nest while this year they were already sitting on eggs at Flaming Gorge.
I've only had one opportunity to photograph Cassin's Finches so far and that was in the small town of Lakeview where the headquarters of Red Rock Lakes national Wildlife Refuge is located.
Last week; while fighting off a bloodsucking cloud of no-see-ums, I was able to photograph this male Long-billed Curlew as it flew past me.
Swainson's Hawks are one of the three Buteos that I see with regularity on my visits to the Centennial Valley of Montana, Red-tailed and Ferruginous Hawks are the other two.
Royals Terns make amazing dive bombs for their prey which are usually small baitfish running close to the surface and sometimes if you are lucky you get to see them "Tern Over" in mid air.
Besides, to have gotten any lower than the Semipalmated Plover I would have had to have crawled down the burrow of one of those crabs
This Snowy Egret was photographed as it stood in the shallow water of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach one early August morning in 2007.
Even this Chukar seemed to be shrugging off the winter doldrums. Or maybe it was airing out its arm pits.
Barn Swallows probably built adobe homes long before humans every did, they use mud as plaster to form their nests and the rain that fell the night before and yesterday morning created puddles that the Barn Swallows were using to get the mud they need for their nests.
Yesterday I was able to photograph this Green-tailed Towhee as it sang on top of a Juniper in a canyon of the Stansbury Mountains in Tooele County, Utah.
I've said before that owls fascinate me; probably more times than I can count, and Short-eared Owls are always a delight.
It really isn't too hard to spot this Spotted Sandpiper on the seawall, I just thought it was a catchy title. I saw my FOY (first of year) Spotted Sandpiper this past week and that got me excited.
I wanted to share a sampler of bird images that I have taken over the past week in Davis and Box Elder Counties.
Two days ago I spotted this Chukar on Antelope Island State Park on the edge of the road near the marina, the Chukar was at road level but just beyond the rock there is a slope that drops about 25 to 30 feet.
This is an adult Swainson's Hawk just after it lifted off from the barb wire on top of a fence on Antelope Island State Park a few days ago.
Yesterday I was lucky enough to find and point out this springtime Raven perched in front of a field of pink Filaree, a wildflower from the Geranium family.
Northern Harriers fascinate me partly because they are sexually dimorphic; meaning that the males and females look different even though they are the same species, and also because of their owl-like facial discs.
A few days ago I spotted this female American Kestrel on the road to Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, and I do mean in the road. She almost didn't move even when the pickup was 20 feet from her as we rolled to a stop.