Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and Beyond
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a winter wonderland right now and although it is very quiet it is still teeming with life.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a winter wonderland right now and although it is very quiet it is still teeming with life.
It isn't unusual to see birds like this frost covered juvenile Northern Harrier at Farmington Bay WMA, Utah early in the morning before the sun rises and warms them up.
I photographed this adult Bald Eagle at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge early on New Year's Day when the light of dawn was still golden.
On January 1st I spotted this resting Barn Owl on some hay bales not too far from the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk at the hot spring.
I'm quite used to seeings birds and bison in close proximity on Antelope Island State Park not just during the warmer months but during the winter too.
This image shows a sunset at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge from September 9, 2015 but every sunrise and sunset on our national lands is a treasure.
When I photographed this Turkey Vulture in Box Elder County last summer it flew from the post it had been perched on and landed a bit further away where it quickly began cleaning its bill
Just a simple image today of a resting Mountain Cottontail on a snow drift taken on Antelope Island State Park near the park headquarters.
I can recall vividly the morning I photographed this Roseate Spoonbill in a lagoon with a young mangrove by its legs at Fort De Soto County Park.
I photographed this frosty Mule Deer buck in snow on Antelope Island State Park in December of 2013 while he was following a few does through a field of snow-covered mullein.
I photographed this Ring-billed Gull in flight at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on New Year's Day on the west side of the auto tour loop.
Through the steamy mists of a hot spring I found a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk at Blue Creek Spring in Box Elder County and I hoped to get a few decent images of it.
This Barn Owl seems to be flying straight into the New Year and that is what I am doing. Spreading my wings and facing what comes at me head on.
I don't know how many hours I have spent in the field photographing birds and wildlife this year but I know that every moment has been special and I treasure that.
It isn't often that I am able to take a Black-billed Magpie portrait so when a magpie flies in close enough to me I will jump at the opportunity.
One year ago today I found, pointed out and photographed a Coyote and Black-billed Magpies scavenging a deer carcass to survive on Antelope Island State Park.
The theme of my photo adventure yesterday seemed to be Barn Owls and spinning ice circles at Bear River MBR.
Rough-legged Hawks are known for kiting or hovering nearly motionless in the air while turning their head side to side to look for prey on the ground below them.
This post is about how I took photos of a lifer Long-eared Owl on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA in a snow storm.
When the Bald Eagle lifted off I could see the prey in its talons but it wasn't until I viewed the image on my screen at home that I could tell that the prey was most likely an Eared Grebe because of the lobed feet.
I was able to take a few frames of this juvenile Northern Harrier in flight as it flew over some open water.
Over the past week I have been able to photograph several Ring-billed Gulls in flight in varying light and like the way they turned out.
I remembered this image I took a few years ago of frosty trees at Farmington Bay and how it quietly says "winter".
The first great opportunity I had with them this year was this male Rough-legged Hawk perched on a stump at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge in Box Elder County.
On a January morning in 2013 I photographed this juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron on ice for about a half an hour at Farmington Bay.
I had a great time photographing a Western Meadowlark in snow yesterday on Antelope Island State Park near the White Rock Bay campgrounds.
All of these male Ring-necked Pheasant portraits were taken yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA in the snow at 5°F.
Ravens aren't easy to get close to on Antelope Island State Park so I was happy to photograph this Common Raven in flight two days ago.
I was quite pleased to find this Great Egret resting in snow yesterday while I was photographing other birds at the WMA.
Last January I photographed this coyote walking the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake with two other coyotes, they were close to the causeway and I took a couple hundred images of them that day.