Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
Fall Wild Turkey Hen Images
I spotted this Wild Turkey hen walking on a rusty, metal beam of a dilapidated pole barn and I knew that I had to take images of her.
I spotted this Wild Turkey hen walking on a rusty, metal beam of a dilapidated pole barn and I knew that I had to take images of her.
Had I taken these Loggerhead Shrike photos four to five years ago the background wouldn't have been dry lake bed. It would have shown water. Precious, life-giving water.
Yesterday morning the first birds I focused on taking photos of were Wild Turkey toms as they displayed for each other on desert ranchlands in northern Utah.
Yesterday I was thrilled to listen to and photograph a singing Townsend's Solitaire as it perched on a juniper surrounded by tiny flying bugs.
Last winter I missed seeing overwintering Double-crested Cormorants at my local ponds and in other locations in northern Utah where I typically see them.
Last week I spent some time with American Goldfinches in their winter plumage in my viewfinder and had fun photographing them.
Last week I had the opportunity to take a nice long series of an orange variant male House Finch while it ate the seeds of a greasewood.
I was looking through my archives yesterday when I came across this immature Black-billed Magpie portrait taken at sunrise on Antelope Island State Park.
Six years ago today I found my lifer Horned Grebe on a frosty November morning in the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
When I was out in the sky island mountains of the West Desert of Utah a few days ago I was again met with virtual silence in and around the Douglas Firs that are there.
It was a very memorable first of year sighting of these Rough-legged Hawks. The kind where you sit there wondering if you really saw what you saw.
Yesterday I found my first White-throated Sparrow in Utah, photographed it, and when I pointed it out to a friend this sparrow became a lifer for them.
Last week I photographed three Canada Geese lifting off from Glover Pond at Farmington Bay and it brought memories from November of 2008.
Starting today I will be keeping an eye out for the return of Bald Eagles to the lower elevations of northern Utah.
I've been hearing American Pipits since around the end of September but so far this year I haven't been able to photograph even one of these birds.
I photographed this Eurasian Collared-Dove last week at Farmington Bay and noticed that it didn't have the dark collar usually seen on this species.
Our eyes can play tricks on us and that is what happened with this "headless" Red-tailed Hawk that I photographed last October at Farmington Bay WMA.
I went to Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning where one of the birds I photographed was this resting Western Grebe with reflections of fall colors.
While rifling through my archives I came across some of my Semipalmated Plover photos that I took on the north beach at Fort De Soto County Park in 2008.
Earlier this month I had an opportunity to take a few fall Song Sparrow photos while way up in Box Elder County in northern Utah.
I selected this hatch year Great Blue Heron photo to share today because it showed the young bird taking a crap on the flats of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Almost one year ago I spotted a Common Loon floating on the Bear River after a somewhat disappointing morning for birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Changing weather is what was happening when I photographed this Ring-billed Gull last month flying over the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.
My trip out into the sky island mountains of the West Desert last week caused my concerns about this years crop of Douglas Fir seeds to grow.
This morning I noticed in my Facebook memories that I saw and heard my first of season Tundra Swans at Bear River MBR on this date in 2015 and that made me happy.
The first bird photos that I took yesterday morning in the desert were of a Ferruginous Hawk perched on a fence post in pre-dawn light.
I'd almost forgotten about this White-faced Ibis close up photo that I took at the end of last month in the wetlands of Farmington Bay WMA.
When I was way up north in Box Elder County three days ago I had the opportunity to take immature White-crowned Sparrow photos with fall colors in the frames.
The first photos I took with my newly refurbished Nikon D500 with a new shutter assembly were of this Wild Turkey hen foraging on desert ranchlands.
This adult Loggerhead Shrike perched on a Fragrant Sumac was among the birds that I found yesterday morning way up in northern Utah.