Rough-legged Hawks Will Be Leaving – Swainson’s Hawks Will Arrive Soon
It is almost time for me to see a seasonal switch of raptors here in northern Utah because the Rough-legged Hawks will leaving and the Swainson's will arrive soon.
It is almost time for me to see a seasonal switch of raptors here in northern Utah because the Rough-legged Hawks will leaving and the Swainson's will arrive soon.
I am more than thrilled to once again observe and photograph nesting Black-billed Magpies using the same greasewood where I first photographed them almost ten years ago.
I enjoyed being able to take portraits of this Pronghorn buck in nice light as he nibbled on the leaves of the sagebrush that dots the island.
I was delighted to hear the Sandhill Cranes calling yesterday. Their bugling calls touch me and remind me that I am every bit a part of nature as the cranes are.
About two weeks ago I was able to photograph two Black-crowned Night Herons, one was immature and the other was an adult.
I did find a sub-adult Bald Eagle resting on the ice on the last leg of the refuge loop and even though it was at a distance I wanted to photograph it because of the marshy habitat it was in.
I've been busy the past few days and haven't been able to get out into the field but that hasn't stopped me from thinking of spring, green fields, warm sunlight on my skin, and Short-eared Owls.
Two days ago there were plenty of male Red-winged Blackbirds singing and putting on displays in the marshy areas of Farmington Bay WMA.
While looking through my photos from two years ago today I came across images of this Ring-billed Gull coming in for a landing and thought the gull looked perfect against the blue of the water.
Eleven years ago today I was wandering and looking for birds to photograph at Lake Seminole Park in Florida and found a very cooperative Limpkin that was foraging for breakfast.
I came across this adult Red-shouldered Hawk while walking around at John Chesnut Sr. Park in Florida way back in January of 2009.
Every winter since I moved to northern Utah in 2009 I have found a few Double-crested Cormorants overwintering at my local ponds but this winter has been very different.
Yesterday I shared a photo of a Bald Eagle resting on the icy marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and this morning I am sharing a Canada Goose doing exactly the same thing.
Three days ago I photographed an adult Bald Eagle resting on the frost-covered, icy marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah.
I spent some time yesterday morning focused on photographing an immature Black-crowned Night Heron at the dawn of the day in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.
No matter how these Golden Eagle photos came to be I am happy to have photographed this magnificent bird on the wing.
I like gulls. I love to photograph gulls. I enjoy watching gulls in flight, on the ground, and fighting over food. I just do. I'm proud to be a gull enthusiast.
When I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge three days ago I realized that in just a few weeks the Clark's and Western Grebes will be returning to the marshes for their breeding season.
For me this female Northern Harrier and the immature harrier in the other photo are a classic examples of what I like to call a hidden treasure type of image.
The Great Blue Herons were hunkered down in the rushes with the warmth of the sunlight on them but they still looked cold.
In about the span of minute all of the Wild Turkeys had flown off of the bales of hay because of that noisy, diesel pickup truck being so close to them.
I photographed this Least Chipmunk last summer high up in a mountain canyon where it appeared to be sniffing the lichens that covered the top of a wooden fence post.
I don't often see Spotted Sandpipers perched in trees so I was enchanted when this one landed on the bare branches that hung over a slow flowing creek.
When this European Starling perched in a Crabapple tree close to me during the snowstorm I was able to get a few photos of it before my hands started to hurt from the cold.
Yesterday I was able to focus on this American Robin as it foraged in the branches of a crabapple tree and took a nice, long series of images of the handsome red-breasted thrush.
On the first of February when I found and photographed an unusual and distinctive Bald Eagle with leucism I also photographed two more immature eagles in the same area.
These Great Blue Heron images also help me to "see" what this species would have looked like as they lived their lives in primordial swamps, estuaries and marshes hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Yesterday morning I spent some time up in the Wasatch Mountains and I am so glad that I did because I found a second winter Bald Eagle with leucism.
When I notice an American Coot exhibiting patrolling behavior I will often aim my lens at them because there could possibly be a chase or fight within seconds.
I can't imagine not seeing these beautiful Mountain Bluebirds feeding, breeding and raising their young in the mountains that are close to where I live.