Bank Swallow Over the Red Rock River
While I looked around four days ago I saw this Bank Swallow resting on a fence that hangs over the Red Rock River and could not resist photographing it with the blue water below and behind it.
Stretching Barn Swallow Close Up
When this Barn Swallow started to stretch its wings I was ready for the action and took several photos of it while it stretched on top of the fence post.
Curbside Barn Swallow on a Chilly Morning
When I arrived at the parking area where the auto tour loop begins at the refuge I spotted a fluffed up curbside Barn Swallow warming up in the sunlight and couldn't resist photographing it.
Low light Tree Swallow in the Targhee National Forest of Idaho
Last year I was able to spend time photographing this male Tree Swallow in low light in the Targhee National Forest of Idaho and even though the light wasn't the best I still liked the resulting images.
Barn Swallow Nesting Season Has Begun
Barn Swallows have returned for the nesting season here in northern Utah and if they aren't already building nests they will be constructing them very soon.
Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge – Celebrating National Wildlife Refuge Week
This is National Wildlife Refuge Week and in celebration I wanted to do a pictorial essay that includes some of my images of the Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Red Rock River Cliff Swallow
This Cliff Swallow resting near the Red Rock River was cooperative and gave me the opportunity to photograph it on a strand of barbed wire fencing.
Tree Swallow near Modoc Creek, Idaho
I liked this image of a Tree Swallow near Modoc Creek because of the eye contact, head turn, colors and the pattern of the conifer needles in the background.
Cliff Swallow Nesting Season at Bear River MBR
More of the swallows will migrate to the refuge very soon and the Cliff Swallow nesting season will start.
Juvenile Barn Swallow at Bear River MBR
Last year in mid August I photographed a very cooperative juvenile Barn Swallow at Bear River MBR and realized I hadn't posted any images of the bird or written about my encounter with it.
Barn Swallow in a fog at Red Rock Lakes NWR, Montana
I had forgotten about photographing this Barn Swallow in a fog at the Lower Lake of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge until I was going through my archives yesterday.
Tree Swallow Defending Its Nest Photo In Memory Of A Great Friend
I'm posting this Tree Swallow image that was taken at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in memory of a great friend, Rohn McKee.
Preening Cliff Swallow and a short video of the flock
The Cliff Swallows at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge are busy catching bugs and building nests but they do take time out to preen and fluff like this one did yesterday.
Return of the Tree Swallows
Not only are Tree Swallows colorful and beautiful they are bug-zapping machines and keep the number of flying insects down.
Photobombed by a bird and a bug
When taking any photograph it is possible to be photobombed and I have had my share of those including these two bird images.
The Magical Sapsucker Tree in Clark County, Idaho
A month ago I photographed a pair of Williamson's Sapsuckers excavating a nesting cavity in Idaho and this past week I spent several days photographing them again.
Nesting Cliff Swallows
Yesterday at East Canyon State Park in Morgan County I was able to photograph nesting Cliff Swallows on a cliff face that overlooks the reservoir.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge after spring has sprung
The snow has melted in the Salt Lake Valley where temps have been unseasonably warm thanks to the "Pineapple Express" and although winter hasn't left it has begun to feel like spring which means it won't be long before spring has sprung up all over Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge!
Barn Swallow on Antelope Island
I was able to photograph this Barn Swallow on Antelope Island yesterday as it rested on a rock and as I took images the swallow opened its bill for a few frames.
The Amazing Legacy of the Bluebird Man
I want to thank Neil Paprocki for sharing information about Al Larson and the upcoming film The Bluebird Man, I have learned a lot from the web site and through my interview with Neil and I am all for learning more about the wonderful natural world around me.
Male Tree Swallow in morning light
This male Tree Swallow was perched on a fence post in western Montana last week when I photographed him while the morning light lit him up beautifully.
Nesting time for Barn Swallows
Barn Swallows probably built adobe homes long before humans every did, they use mud as plaster to form their nests and the rain that fell the night before and yesterday morning created puddles that the Barn Swallows were using to get the mud they need for their nests.
Bird Sampler for April 28 through May 4, 2013
I wanted to share a sampler of bird images that I have taken over the past week in Davis and Box Elder Counties.
Perched Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallows have a wide range in North America but because of their drab colors they are often overlooked by bird photographers, they are the "plain brown bird" of the swallow family.
Male Tree Swallow in flight
This male Tree Swallow in flight image was taken two years ago at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana and for some reason I had not processed it until now.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Barn Swallow
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge has five species of swallows, they are Tree, Northern Rough-winged, Violet-green, Cliff and Barn Swallows.
Montana is beckoning to me…
Seeing the word "Montana" so often has gotten me anxious, antsy and itching to head north soon to see more of a state that beckons to me because I have fallen in love with it.
Cliff Swallow Juveniles
Cliff Swallows catch and eat flying insects of many species the wing so I adore them because they eat mosquitoes, an insect that I personally despise!
It has only been 4 days? Really?
For days it has been raining (sometimes hailing), cloudy and a miserable gray here in the Salt Lake Valley though it seems like two weeks to this bird photographer.
Midges and Birds – Food for thought
This is the time of the year that "midges" are as thick as flies on you-know-what at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.