Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
About half the world's shorebird populations are in decline and with climate change and rising sea levels habitat loss is happening at a faster rate than ever before.
Sure, vultures aren't are handsome as Bald Eagles but they do serve an ecological function of cleaning up carrion so in essence they are nature's recyclers.
The Sage Thrashers on Antelope Island State Park are busy getting ready for migration and the thrashers hatched this year appear to be almost ready to go.
Yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was able to photograph a Mallard drake as it lifted off from the water on the south side of the auto tour loop.
The first day of September signals to me that cooler weather is arriving so I took a look back at some of the images I have taken in September from 2008 on.
I am always thrilled when a Virginia Rail comes out into the open because typically they are shy, secretive marsh birds.
I came across this image of a male Rough-legged Hawk taken this past February and it caused me to wonder what this upcoming winter will be like.
Two days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I found a couple of Western Grebes preening in an area where the reflections on the water are always wonderful so I took a series of images.
I spent about three months in 2008 watching a Great Horned Owl nest on Honeymoon Island State Park in Florida from hatching until this young owl fledged.
On a clear day this Great Blue Heron image would have shown the Promontory Mountains in the distant background instead of the dull gray seen here.
And this one of the Long-tailed Weasel at the side of the road that shows its face, dark eyes and cute rounded ears but it also shows that the weasel appears to be injured on the left of its nose.
It was clear, smoke-free, cool and wonderful up in Little Emigration Canyon yesterday and seeing several Cedar Waxwings made it even better.
There were plenty of Western Grebes to be seen and photographed yesterday morning at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge and I took tons of images of them.
Every time I look at this tern image I laugh because my mind sees a tiny starfish stuck on the birds face that is actually its bill.
This is a simple image of a bathing Dunlin from May of 2009 taken at Fort De Soto County Park that brings back wonderful memories for me.
This Western Grebe was preening and flapping on the Bear River in that glowing, smokey light not long after dawn.
Virginia Rails are secretive marsh birds that can be found at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge during the breeding season and the can be very difficult to see let alone photograph.
Late last month I photographed a Western Kingbird family in Box Elder County where the juveniles kept begging for food from the adult.
Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed that Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is getting duckier. I am seeing more ducks in the water and flying over head now than I had in July.
I wanted to post an image of a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird today because despite their bad reputations as brood parasites they are native birds that I think are worth pointing my lens at.
A few days ago a Western Grebe popped up from under the water very close to me and I was able to take a quick series of portraits of it before it moved away.
In my post yesterday I mentioned that the Snowy Egrets that I photographed at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge were avoiding a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron, this is that heron.
There was lots of bird activity yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and a flurry of Snowy Egrets kept things interesting early in the morning.
It isn't often that I can capture images of Muskrats out of the water so I was delighted to spot this one a few days ago at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Yesterday I spent the morning in Box Elder County driving along the Promontory Mountain Range and Red-tailed Hawks were the most numerous raptors I saw.
I created this juvenile Swainson's Hawk image two days ago before the sun rose over the mountains and I liked how it turned out despite the low light.
If the Bear River is dammed upstream I have to wonder if we will see history repeating itself but made even worse by climate change, reduced snow pack and rising temperatures and how that will impact the refuge.
The Sandhill Crane colts at Farmington Bay are as tall as their parents and look just like them except for the markings on their head and the color of their bills and eyes.
The past few times I have gone to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I have seen Marbled Godwits flying over and I know that their migration to their wintering grounds has begun.
After a rainy summer day there were puddles on the dirt roads of Antelope Island State Park and this juvenile Loggerhead Shrike took advantage of a puddle and bathed.