Birds

Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.

Wild and Wonderful – Antelope Island State Park – The Birds

By |January 25th, 2012|Categories: American Barn Owls, American Kestrels, American White Pelicans, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Brewer's Blackbirds, Burrowing Owls, California Gulls, Chukars, Common Ravens, Davis County, Great Horned Owls, Green-winged Teals, Horned Larks, Killdeer, Long-billed Curlews, Northern Harriers, Northern Shovelers, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons, Rough-legged Hawks, Sage Thrashers, Utah, Western Meadowlarks, Willets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This is the third post in my series about Wild and Wonderful Antelope Island State Park, I've saved the best (and longest) for last. The Birds! Okay, maybe they aren't the best thing about Antelope Island State Park, but I am a bird photographer and they are what I am most passionate about!

Friday Photos ~ Feathers and Fur

By |January 20th, 2012|Categories: American Kestrels, Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Black-crowned Night Herons, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Long-tailed Weasels, Pronghorn, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

For today's Friday Photos I am mixing it up a bit and posting images of Pronghorns, a Black-crowned Night Heron, a Long-tailed Weasel and an American Kestrel. Please enjoy!

Rough-legged Hawk Kiting, Being Bit and Eating on the Fly

By |January 19th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

These images are from an afternoon just like that when I happened to find and point out a lovely Rough-legged Hawk on a breezy day.

Juvenile Burrowing Owl Portrait

By |January 17th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Burrowing Owls, Davis County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Burrowing Owls are beautiful birds with lemony yellow eyes, downy soft feathers and subtle coloration. It's hard to believe that they aren't that much different in size from an American Robin.

Friday Photos ~ Horned Lark and Western Meadowlark

By |January 13th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Horned Larks, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks are birds that I enjoy photographing all year long in Utah and yesterday they gave me some wonderful opportunities.

Great Blue Heron at Sunrise

By |January 10th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Another one of the reasons I enjoy this photo is that the eye of the Great Blue Heron has a colored catchlight that is from the sun glowing yellow on the eastern horizon.

Preening American Kestrel ~ Friday Photos

By |January 6th, 2012|Categories: American Kestrels, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

American Kestrels hold a special interest for me, they are North America's smallest falcon but what they lack in size they make up for in attitude. These falcons can be fiesty.

Peregrine Falcon with prey ~ Low light

By |December 28th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Frustrations in bird photography, Peregrine Falcons, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Where is the light when you want it? Yesterday it was hiding behind the clouds and lake fog when I spotted this Peregrine Falcon at a close distance, on prey and sticky.

More Prairie Falcon Fun ~ This time with prey

By |December 28th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Prairie Falcons, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week while out photographing I spotted a Prairie Falcon in the midst of a tussle with two Common Ravens in mid air. At times it seemed that the falcon was chasing the ravens and then the tables would turn and it appeared that the ravens were diving at the falcon.

The Bald Eagles are Returning to the Valley

By |December 19th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Portraits, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

During the summer months I don't often see Bald Eagles unless I go up into the high country or travel north of Utah to Idaho, Wyoming or Montana but in the Salt Lake Valley many Bald Eagles come in to spend the winter.

Friday Photos ~ Prairie Falcon

By |December 16th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Prairie Falcons, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Many of my regular readers probably know that I have been having a great time the past month photographing Rough-legged Hawks and Prairie Falcons so I selected an image of a Prairie Falcon to post for my Friday Photos today.

High Key Fun

By |December 14th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Mallards, Rough-legged Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It seems that people either love high key images or they hate them. Personally; I believe that when a high key image is done well that they can be very appealing and have a place for them in my portfolio.

Harlequin Ducks Dead – Just because it is legal that doesn’t make it right!

By |December 10th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Harlequin Ducks, Utah, Wildlife Ethics & Etiquette|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

To those hunters who recognized and respected the rarity of those beautiful and very uncommon birds, you have my respect and I am personally very grateful that you preferred to give these ducks a pass even though you knew that hunting them was legal.

Piping Plover and Semipalmated Plover – Sunday Shorebirds

By |December 4th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Low angle, Pinellas County, Piping Plovers, Semipalmated Plovers|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

When I am out in the field I take a large amount of photos and there are times I don't get around to processing them until much later, these are two such images taken at Fort DeSoto, Florida in 2008.

Low Light Bird Images

By |November 24th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Low light, Roseate Spoonbills, Sanderlings|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Because I live far from my family and have no children at home my yearly Thanksgiving tradition includes spending a part of my day out photographing birds, mostly early morning outings.

More Rough-legged Hawks

By |November 20th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I have been very pleased to add so many images of Rough-legged Hawks to my portfolio in just the past week and hopefully these Roughies will stick around until late February of next year so there will be many more opportunities.

Rough-legged Hawks

By |November 13th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Eureka! The Rough-legged Hawks are back from their high subarctic and Arctic breeding grounds and they seem to be showing up in larger numbers than I have seen them since I moved to Utah.

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