Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
As a bird photographer I often strive for images where the subjects are out in the open, without distractions in the fore or background, but as with any photographic "rule", they are made to be broken.
This male Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) sure caught my eye with its beautiful orange, black and white plumage.
Cotton candy pink... are the descriptive words I thought of when I saw my first Roseate Spoonbill.
Laughing Gulls are quite common on the east and Gulf coastlines of the US, during breeding season they are usually found near saltwater but in nonbreeding season they are known to wander widely.
Male Lazuli Buntings resemble bluebirds but they are smaller and the blues are a different hue than the Mountain, Eastern and Western Bluebirds.
Eared Grebes are the most abundant grebe in North America, there are times I see huge flocks of them on the Great Salt Lake numbering in the tens of thousands.
I hope to find some Short-eared Owls this winter in Utah, I think that some snow would make for a lovely setting for these delightful & enchanting birds.
This blur was not intentional, but I do like the effect caused by the head of the Burrowing Owl spinning. Makes me dizzy just viewing the photo!
Not too long after I had gotten to my location I spotted a Western Meadowlark hunkered down on a rock trying to warm up with the rays of the rising sun.
What I like about this image is the pose of the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), the warm tones of the background, the detail and colors
There are times that I open an image on my computer screen and I can't help but laugh. This is one of those images for me because of the tilt of the head of the Wilson's Plover.
Great Egret (Ardea alba) in flight, a balance of whites and light
White-crowned Sparrows are one of the many birds that I see often during the cold winters of northern Utah.
I love watching Black-bellied Plovers hunting. They take a few steps, stop, look and listen, then do it all over again.
Sometimes life gets so busy that it takes me quite awhile to edit some of the images I take, this Song Sparrow photo is one of those.
It is my opinion that Wood Storks do not get nearly the same exposure as other big white wading birds.
Breeding plumage white morph Reddish Egret while it hunted and danced in the waves on the Gulf coast of Florida.
I will have more opportunities with northern harriers in better light this winter and while I wouldn't consider this image perfect, I am happy with the results I obtained while photographing this "Gray Ghost".
I felt it was time to put the beauty of the adult Burrowing Owls in the limelight.
If I had not been paying attention to the first magpie's activity and behavior I would have missed the opportunity to photograph these birds and their nesting habits over the next several weeks.
Anhingas have always fascinated me. These are portraits of both the male and female.
Since I moved to Utah I have never been able to get as close to Black-crowned Night Herons like I was able to approach this bird in Florida.
This juvenile Wilson's Plover was in the company of an adult bird and both of them were scurrying along some vegetation on the north beach of Fort De Soto.
The Willet is thought by many people to be a "plain brown bird" but I find their subtle coloring quite appealing whether they are in breeding or nonbreeding plumage.
A foggy morning at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge brought me 13 minutes of joy after spotting a shape on the gravel road, it was a female Short-eared Owl and she flew up and landed on a post not too far from the road.
Marbled Godwits are graceful birds while on the ground, feeding and in flight.
Auto levels in Photoshop must be used with a light touch. Using auto levels can create too much contrast in an image, can cause color casts, it can brighten an image too much, it can strip the light and can make some images look very unnatural.
This image cracks me up as it reminds me of how in elementary school we would all have to line up for the class picture.
Near the camp site one afternoon I could hear tiny peeping sounds in the pines and I went to investigate, the sweet calls were coming from these juvenile Flycatchers.
One of the easier medium-sized shorebirds to identify on Fort De Soto's beaches and tidal mudflats are the Ruddy Turnstones. The only other turnstone that frequents North America is the Black Turnstone and it occurs on the Pacific coast.