That one midge I saw in the restroom at Bear River MBR did cause me to wonder if the swallows will show up early this year in northern Utah or will the predicted cooler weather cause them arrive at their normal time.
As much as I like the first photo where the Ring-billed Gull has its wings spread and its feet still in the water I like the second photo even more because of the action and how the bird is suspended over the water.
I had been photographing just one Reddish Egret dancing in the waves as it caught fish after fish and fought with the Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls over its prey when a second Reddish Egret flew in.
After taking the quick bath in the tidal lagoon the Black-bellied Plover flew off towards the shoreline of the lagoon to shake and fluff its feathers until they were dry.
As I photographed this pair of Tundra Swans in flight I could hear the whir of their wings and the calls of the other swans that were still on the water and also getting ready to lift off.
Human made nest boxes, nest baskets, birdhouses, nest shelves and nest platforms can and do help many species of birds in all types of habitats.
Yesterday the American Crows hung around with the Bald Eagles, Herring, California and Ring-billed Gulls to feast on those invasive fish which gave me an opportunity to photograph this one standing on a dead carp.
I'm excited that the American Avocets, American White Pelicans and Sandhill Cranes have returned to northern Utah because I look forward to seeing and photographing them again.
The Tundra Swans are truly at home in the landscape of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and they belong there as much as the mountains, marshes, birds, animals, fish, sky and the clouds overhead do.
When I look up at the tops of the Wasatch, Oquirrh, Stansbury and Promontory mountain ranges and they look more like late April or May than they do on a normal winter because there is just so little snow up there.
The Rough-legged Hawk's wings were fully extended above its body while its feet were still firmly planted on the ground and with one downward swoop of its long wings it was airborne right after this was photo was created.
On a May morning in 2008 while photographing this Wilson's Plover it began to scratch itself with its foot and when I took this photo it looked like the plover was dancing.
I'm glad that I made the trip down to the pond because I was able to photograph a drake Redhead exhibiting courtship display behavior several times as he tried to impress the hen that was nearby.
My entire focus was on the calm Great Blue Heron in front of me and I felt as relaxed as the heron appeared to be that morning.
I had a blast photographing the Tundra Swans at the refuge yesterday and for the first time in a while I forgot about practically everything but the birds in front of me and the peace I find at the refuge.
Because I had noticed the Common Goldeneye drake's behavior I was able to photograph him as he assumed the Head-throw posture.
There are some other differences between Great and Snowy Egrets in appearance of course but I think the comparisons I have written about are the most helpful for me in the field for identification and may be for other people too.
Three years ago today I found and photographed a Golden Eagle that was soaring along the east side of Antelope Island over the Great Salt Lake.
One good bird can make my day... Yesterday that bird was an immature Red-tailed Hawk at Farmington Bay WMA that lifted off from a metal post and flew over the marsh.
Among my favorite plovers to photograph when I lived in Florida were Semipalmated Plovers, I only saw them during their nonbreeding season where they spent time along the Gulf coast.
I photographed a couple of American Goldfinches that morning too, as usual I heard the finches well before I spotted them foraging in some vegetation next to the auto tour route.
Two days ago this California Gull flew in and was so close to me that I felt I had to take portraits of it because the gull looked so handsome against the blue of the water.
I lost those Peregrine Falcon images because I had other things on my mind and prematurely reformatted my memory card.
This Short-billed Dowitcher slowly made its way through the Sargassum on the wrack line as I laid in the damp sand photographing it and the other shorebirds that were searching the seaweed for food.
Three frames later I was glad this Ring-billed Gull's rotund belly caught my eye when through my viewfinder I could see the gull preening while in flight which is unusual behavior in my experience.
My favorite image of the day was this high key Mallard drake portrait that was taken in the late afternoon which was the only time I could see the sun behind the clouds the whole day.
This portrait of a head on Ring-billed Gull in a snow storm was taken 364 days ago at a local pond near home and I liked it because the gull looks a touch grumpy.
I like how both these two American Wigeon photos turned out even though they were taken in different lighting conditions, they are both pleasing to my eye.
My best finds of the day yesterday morning were two American Bitterns on the riverbank of the Bear River at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, birds I do not normally see in January here in northern Utah.
So what did I do? I kept firing as the Snowy Egret flew past me keeping my focus on the eye of the bird and that is when I took this photograph of the egret in flight.