More Mountain Plover Images
I wanted to share a few more of the Mountain Plover images I took which are a lifer bird for me as well as being rare in Utah.
I wanted to share a few more of the Mountain Plover images I took which are a lifer bird for me as well as being rare in Utah.
What I saw through my lens was a Mountain Plover, a bird I have long dreamed of seeing. A rarity here in Utah.
The only native true lark that lives and breeds in North America is the Horned Lark.
Who knew that one day my photos would be in a book published by National Geographic? I am truly honored.
I photographed this male Long-billed Curlew last week as he was starting to lift off.
These Pronghorn images were taken a few years ago during the spring and I thought I would share them this morning partly because the yellow flowers in these images; Gray's Biscuitroot, have just started to bloom this year.
Just some funny images of birds for a Monday. These photos just beg for humorous captions.
When we stopped at one of the parking lots that overlooked Bridger Bay I heard a call that made me jump in my seat and before I could say "Long-billed Curlew!!" I could see the bird flying towards the grasses.
I'm used to seeing Loggerhead Shrikes all year round here in northern Utah but they have been MIA for quite some time.
I do hope that non-photographers and the general public know that behavior like this is an exception and that ethical photographers would not have gone up and petted the Sandhill Cranes.
Last week I spotted my first Burrowing Owl of the year, it was a distance away and I didn't take any images of it but I had to do a wiggle dance in my seat because I was excited seeing one again.
Some times there is one bird that makes (or perhaps saves) a day, yesterday it was this Chukar for me. I can say I didn't get skunked!
I photographed this male Horned Lark just two days ago and I'm tickled that I can see new growth of grasses in the frame.
Normally we have Western Meadowlarks year round here in the Salt Lake Valley but because this past winter was harsh it seemed that they moved south for a bit. They are back now and singing their songs of spring.
Yesterday while near the marina on Antelope Island State Park I spotted my first of the year Brine Flies warming up on some of the rocks in the water.
March is a month when I begin to anticipate the arrival of Willets, I have been listening carefully for them and hoping to catch sight of them along the causeway to Antelope Island any day now.
Yesterday this Black-billed Magpie turned in flight while I was photographing it which allowed me a great dorsal view that showed the iridescent colors well.
There was a sharp, cold wind blowing from the north yesterday and before I was finished photographing these Black-billed Magpies my hands had gone numb.
Yesterday I spotted this lone Coyote walking in the snow on a hillside on Antelope Island State Park and stopped to take some images of it before it disappeared into the brush.
Last month I was able to take images of American Tree Sparrows on two different days in very different conditions in about the same location on Antelope Island State Park.
Just a simple juvenile Red-tailed Hawk this morning that I took last year on Antelope Island State Park as it flew past me with the dark Farmington complex rocks in the background.
Yesterday I spotted a Coyote on Antelope Island, it was down a slope near a herd of Pronghorn and not in the best of light. I noticed almost right away that the Coyote was limping rather badly.
Yes, more Chukars in the snow! I spotted this Chukar on top of a mound of snow that the plow had pushed to the side of the road on Antelope Island State Park.
This year hasn't provided me with as many opportunities to photograph Rough-legged Hawks as last winter did and before long these raptors will be heading to the high Arctic to find mates on their breeding grounds.
Some people might not find high key photos to their tastes but I find that I enjoy them because of their simplicity and how the high key background allows my eyes to focus clearly on my subject's form and beauty.
When I look at these two snowy Chukar images I sense a moodiness in the first image that the second one doesn't seem to convey.
Isn't this Short-eared Owl lovely with her big yellow eyes? It had been a while since I had seen a Short-eared Owl and I was quite surprised when I spotted her on top of some snow-covered Rabbitbrush late last month along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park.
Just a few Red-tailed Hawk images that I have been meaning to process and share.
In my post yesterday I shared a Coyote photo in the snow and wanted to share a few more of the Coyotes I saw on Antelope Island State Park on Monday.
Yesterday when I saw this running Chukar image on my camera LCD in mid-stride and mid-air I had to chuckle because it looks something like a feathered Nerf football some one tossed across the snow.