An Aerial Food Fight – Gulls And A Tern
This image was taken on a breezy April morning in 2009 at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach when I saw an aerial food fight occurring over the Gulf of Mexico.
Black Skimmers at Fort De Soto Five Years Ago Today
It is really cruddy here in Utah this morning so I thought I would go back in time to a warmer, sunnier day via the magic of some Black Skimmer images I created five years ago today.
Red-breasted Merganser at rest on the Gulf shore
I've mentioned in another post that "Some Days are Magic" and I felt that magic the morning I created this image of a Red-breasted Merganser.
Roseate Visions
The sky outside is cloudy and gray this morning so I thought I'd share some images with rosy colors to brighten my day and hopefully yours as well.
Great Blue Heron Surf-side Sentinel
Great Blue Herons are wading birds that I photographed quite often at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach while I lived in Florida.
Our Willets have returned
Yesterday for the first time this season I saw and heard Willets on Antelope Island State Park.
Breeding and nonbreeding Caspian Terns
Soon Caspian Terns will be back in Utah flying over rivers, ponds, lakes and other freshwater impoundments searching for prey.
Sunset and a Roseate Spoonbill
The tide was rushing out of the tidal lagoon very quickly when I photographed this Roseate Spoonbill at the "Magic Hour" and the light on the Spoonbill and the Spartina behind it enchanted me.
My Love of Ospreys
Three days ago a first of the year sighting from the UBIRD group got me all excited because it means that the Ospreys have returned to Utah!
Long-billed Curlews are back in Utah!
I saw my first of the year Long-billed Curlews two days ago on Antelope Island State Park flying overhead. They weren't close enough to photograph but I know that soon I will have them in my viewfinder again.
Wind Blown Great Blue Heron Photographed Using Different Angles
These Great Blue Heron photos were taken of the same bird, photographed at same location on the same day just one minute apart.
Tranquil Tricolored Heron
There is a quality that feels very tranquil about this Tricolored Heron image for me. It may be the still, silky texture of the water or the soft pastel color of the water created by the early morning light.
Great Horned Owl and fledgling strongly backlit by the setting sun
What can I say about this image of an adult Great Horned Owl feeding its young that is strongly back lit by the setting sun on Honeymoon Island State Park in Florida?
Something Is Fishy
Long ago in a subtropical clime with plenty of heat, humidity and the occasional hurricane I used to photograph with a small point and shoot camera from Canon and had great fun doing it.
Juvenile Brown Pelican gliding over the Gulf of Mexico
In Florida it was not uncommon for me to see Brown Pelicans gliding just barely above the surface of the Gulf of Mexico like the juvenile shown in my image.
Ethics for Nests and Chicks
I feel that as a bird photographer I need to care for my subjects every time I am in the field and that is amplified when there are young, defenseless chicks.
Long billed Birds and Preening
Preening in birds is essential for keeping their feathers clean, arranged correctly and for some birds it is a way to distribute oils from the uropygial gland which helps to keep the feathers clean and healthy.
Long-billed Curlews are winging their way to Utah
Long-billed Curlews have begun to leave or have left their wintering grounds and should be winging their way to Utah and arriving here any day now.
Adult and juvenile Laughing Gulls
Laughing Gulls are commonly seen at Fort De Soto County Park but novices to birding and bird watching might think they are three different kinds of gulls depending on their age and plumage.
Coyote running by the Great Salt Lake
This Coyote image always makes me smile. It was taken in early March of 2010 as the Great Salt Lake began to thaw and there was a hint of spring in the air.
Feeding Habits of Red-breasted Mergansers
According to Birds of North America there are four foraging methods used by Red-breasted Mergansers which are Cooperative Herding, Individual Search, Shallow Diving and Deep Diving.
Roseate Spoonbills on a foggy Florida morning
As soon as I crossed the north beach footbridge I spotted several Roseate Spoonbills in the tidal lagoon on my right. There were adults and a few juveniles, some were resting while others preened.
Comparing American White Pelicans to Brown Pelicans
The recent arrival of American White Pelicans to the Salt Lake Valley started me thinking about the differences between Brown Pelicans and American White Pelicans.
Reddish Egret cleared for landing
This is one of my favorite Reddish Egret images that I have taken at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach.
American Oystercatcher Lift Off
One of two species of oystercatchers in North America the American Oystercatchers quickly stole my heart after I first saw them because of their colors, long bills, pink legs and their Goth-like black toenails.
Snowy Plover on a sugar sand beach
Shorebirds like this tiny Snowy Plover on a sugar sand beach were my "spark" birds when it comes to my bird photography and they are what made my passion for bird photography catch fire.
Wildflowers for Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine's Day! I never much cared for cut flowers and prefer to see them in nature so today I present a wet American White Waterlily I photographed in 2007 at Sawgrass Lake Park in Florida.
Snowy Egret resting in the mangroves at Fort De Soto
My 1000th post was long and contained many images so for my 1001st post I am keeping it simple with a Snowy Egret resting near the mangroves of the north beach at Fort De Soto.
1000 posts at On The Wing Photography and still going strong
Today I reached the 1000 posts mark for my blog here at On The Wing Photography. In those 1000 posts I've covered a lot of birds, animals and locations.
An Osprey in flight with a huge Flounder
This Osprey flying in from the Gulf over the north beach of Fort De Soto came as a surprise to us so I had little time to prepare and get my setting right due to how fast the Osprey was flying.