Many beginning photographers dream of taking images in far off places of exotic birds and there is nothing wrong with that. But we shouldn’t overlook the advantages of photographing birds close to home.
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!
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.
Two years ago I could often find Northern Harriers hunting along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park and I photographed a series of images of this female Northern Harrier on February 16th of that year.
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.
It won't be long before the American White Pelicans are back at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge which is where I photographed the pelican in the image above last spring.
I thought posting an adult Burrowing Owl in flight taken during the summer of 2011 on Antelope Island might help to brighten my spirits as I dream of the sun again.
The sun came out for a few hours yesterday afternoon so I went to a pond near where I live and photographed some of the ducks including this very confiding Redhead drake.
The bad weather here has given me cabin fever so last night I looked through my archives and enjoyed some images from brighter, warmer days and came across this juvenile Red-naped Sapsucker image from my first camping trip to Utah's high Uintas in Summit County.
The opposite of cold, gray, windy and rainy is summertime in my mind so I thought that today I would post some thing from a warmer, brighter and calmer day and what could be more summery than a Black-chinned Hummingbird feeding on Rocky Mountain Bee Plant?
I don't see Sun Dogs all that often in the warmer months; though they do occur all year long, but I do see them quite often during the winter and when I can I like to take images of them.
It has been quite some time since I have photographed Pronghorn on Antelope Island State Park because it seems that the Pronghorn have kept mostly to the west and south sides of the island this winter.
There are times when one subject will make my day in the field worthwhile, yesterday it was a lone Coyote hunting for voles on the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake.
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.
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.
Just a simple Red-tailed Hawk in flight image that I took early last week in Cedar Valley on a bright, clear day.
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.
Yesterday I mentioned that I had D.W.B. (Dreary Weather Blues) and after a nice email from a friend last night who reminded me that it is only 7 weeks until the spring equinox I now have the D.O.T.S, better known as Dreaming Of The Sun.
I wanted to post a funny bird image today because I have the D.W.B. so I selected this American Coot that was scratching in a pond near where I live in Salt Lake County, Utah.
Sometimes I find an image appealing because of the memories it wakes up and not so much from the technical or compositional aspects, this Red-breasted Merganser image is one that isn't perfect but it does awaken memories and stirs my senses.
I have dreamed about getting a shot like this since I first started photographing Horned Larks, I wanted a shot of a Horned Lark at the precise moment it began to lift off with the wings lifted.
One year ago today the sky was cloudy, the fog was thick and the snow was blowing in northern Utah. I couldn't see the tops of the mountains or across the Great Salt Lake but I did spot this Short-eared Owl perched on a snow-covered bush on the causeway my way to Antelope Island.
Yesterday morning I spotted a lone Common Merganser at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area nearly hidden in some phragmites and when we came around the corner the bird seemed to have disappeared but after a bit it came out from its hiding spot and gave us quite a show.
Gray Flycatchers are generally found in sagebrush and arid busy habitats so it was a real treat to see this one in the marshy habitat of the refuge.
I like gulls. I especially like being able to see them up close when the opportunities arise and will take advantage of my close proximity by taking portraits of these beautiful but often disliked birds.
One great bird can make a day or even an entire trip worthwhile and this particular Red-tailed Hawk photographed in Utah County has made two days wonderful so far.
What do you mean it is only Thursday?
Today I have just a few images of a Red-tailed Hawk I spotted yesterday on a power pole in Utah County near the southern part of the Oquirrh Mountain Range.
I like the setting contained in this image with a frost covered branches of a shrub with reddish bark that the White-crowned Sparrow perched on close to the entrance to Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
Both images are appealing to me because I enjoy the foggy softness of the female Short-eared Owl image and the warm, golden tones of the male Short-eared Owl photo.