Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
The 2023 ABA Bird of the Year was revealed yesterday evening. The bird of the year is the Queenfisher, also known as the female Belted Kingfisher.
I was thrilled to have this female American Kestrel in my neighborhood and viewfinder after an overnight snow fell two days ago.
After I cleared the snow from my Jeep yesterday morning, I went out for a bit and took a few male House Finch photos as they feasted on crabapples.
While I was out walking yesterday, I stopped at a neighborhood pond and saw fresh Canada Goose tracks in the snow. I felt that I had to take photos of them.
The fog was so thick yesterday morning that I decided to stay near home and focus on urban birds. My first one of the day was an American Crow in a parking lot.
I photographed this singing Black-capped Chickadee adult this past August high up in the Wasatch Mountains on a very hot summer morning.
About two years ago, I photographed this immature Red-tailed Hawk resting above a safety zone sign at Farmington Bay WMA on a cold morning.
Earlier this year I photographed a Tundra Swan in bright winter light that today I am comparing to another swan image I took in winter whiteout conditions.
It has been almost exactly one year since I have taken high quality images of American Pipits. I have a fondness for these birds and I have missed them.
Yesterday I wrote that a mini-bike scared the birds at my local pond two days ago. This urban Ring-billed Gull didn't fly off. It stood its ground.
It was a gorgeous afternoon yesterday, so I had to go outside and take a walk while admiring the views of the snow-covered Wasatch Mountain Range.
Although much of the water there had iced over, I was tickled to find this White-faced Ibis foraging in the wetlands of Farmington Bay WMA last week.
If I were a vole, I'd tremble in fear under the head on stare of this immature Red-tailed Hawk that I photographed last week at Farmington Bay WMA.
The last time I wrote about this species I said that I was feeling Orange-crowned Warbler deprived. Just a few days later I had this beauty in my viewfinder.
I felt like I had hit a jackpot yesterday when I found an immature Northern Shrike perched on a Common Mullein at Farmington Bay WMA.
This week, while photographing birds at my neighborhood pond, I came upon an uncommon Canada Goose with a white forehead and an oddly shaped cheek patch.
This morning I am sharing three drake Redhead photos that I took at my local pond two evenings ago before the golden light of sunset had started to glow.
I spent about 45 minutes at my local pond yesterday afternoon and one of my favorite images from being there was this American Coot with a funky reflection.
I'd like this photo of a male Northern Harrier more if there weren't camping trailers from a duck hunting club near the auto loop of Bear River MBR behind him.
Nearly three years have passed since I found, pointed out, and photographed this stunning dark morph Ferruginous Hawk in the West Desert of Utah.
On a recent walk around my local pond, I heard the call of a male Great-tailed Grackle. When I found it, I giggled out loud because of where it was perched.
This morning I am sharing a simple drake Mallard photo taken at my local pond. I liked this image because of the reflections of the duck, light pole and leaf.
When I explored the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Monday I was able to take photos of one Tundra Swan framed by phrags from the dirt road.
When I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago I witnessed several Ring-billed Gull feeding frenzies out on the marshes of the refuge.
I drove up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge early yesterday morning where the first bird I photographed was a Great Blue Heron standing on driftwood.
Now that many of the leaves have fallen off the trees along the Jordan River I have been finding quite a few Bullock's Oriole nests on my walks along the trail.
After the hottest summer on record here in the Salt Lake Valley, I am looking forward to photographing Canada Geese on snowy days close to home.
I found my first of season Common Goldeneye near a stand of rushes while walking around a local pond after a light skiff of snow had fallen overnight.
I took this photo of a hen Canvasback preening her belly feathers at my local pond back in January of 2021 and thought I would share it this morning.
Since I frequently get asked which is which I thought this would be a good time to do a winter California and American Herring Gull comparison and ID feature post.