Virginia Rails at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
Virginia Rails are secretive marsh birds that can be found at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge during the breeding season and the can be very difficult to see let alone photograph.
Virginia Rails are secretive marsh birds that can be found at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge during the breeding season and the can be very difficult to see let alone photograph.
Late last month I photographed a Western Kingbird family in Box Elder County where the juveniles kept begging for food from the adult.
Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed that Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is getting duckier. I am seeing more ducks in the water and flying over head now than I had in July.
A few days ago a Western Grebe popped up from under the water very close to me and I was able to take a quick series of portraits of it before it moved away.
In my post yesterday I mentioned that the Snowy Egrets that I photographed at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge were avoiding a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron, this is that heron.
There was lots of bird activity yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and a flurry of Snowy Egrets kept things interesting early in the morning.
It isn't often that I can capture images of Muskrats out of the water so I was delighted to spot this one a few days ago at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Yesterday I spent the morning in Box Elder County driving along the Promontory Mountain Range and Red-tailed Hawks were the most numerous raptors I saw.
I created this juvenile Swainson's Hawk image two days ago before the sun rose over the mountains and I liked how it turned out despite the low light.
If the Bear River is dammed upstream I have to wonder if we will see history repeating itself but made even worse by climate change, reduced snow pack and rising temperatures and how that will impact the refuge.
The young Burrowing Owls I have been following and photographing are growing up but many of them still stay close to the burrows they hatched in.
I am seeing more and more Wilson's Phalaropes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the majority of the birds I see are hatch year birds.
I was in far northern Utah yesterday and saw the hawks I expected to see but finding this Great Horned Owl was a bit of a surprise since I wasn't looking for Great Horned Owls.
So even though I didn't come home with many Burrowing Owls images yesterday these Western Kingbird images more than made up for it!
You might wonder why I think it is tough being a bird photographer when it comes to Burrowing Owls.
Yesterday I posted a juvenile Wilson's Phalarope and today I am posting an assortment of others birds I photographed the same day at Bear River NWR.
Bear River National Wildlife Refuge was lovely yesterday morning and one of the nice surprises I found was this juvenile Wilson's Phalarope on the west side of the auto tour route.
Every once in a while I find myself attracted to an image not just because of the subject but also because of reflections and this American White Pelican image is one of those.
I think I could photograph juvenile Burrowing Owls for two months straight and not get bored with them.
I headed up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning and I am very glad I did because of the wonderful birds I saw.
Leopards don't change their spots but juvenile Burrowing Owls do change their spots on their chests as they mature.
Burrowing Owls and American Robins are about the same size but they are two very different species of birds.
When I looked at this Burrowing Owl image on my monitor I had to chuckle because in a strange way it reminded me of myself when I first dove off of a 10 meter platform and how my toes were the last to let go.
I thought I would share some images I have taken of Western Burrowing Owls that I took over several days spent with them in Box Elder County, Utah.
I am always happy to photograph Swainson's Hawks no matter where I find them so I was pleased to find this one perched on a lichen covered rock yesterday in Box Elder County, Utah.
I spent yesterday morning photographing Burrowing Owls in northern Utah again and while most of it was fun there was something I found that broke my heart.
Mornings this time of the year at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge are cool, delightful and early on the subjects can appear to glow from the soft light like this Snowy Egret.
Last week I posted an image of Burrowing Owl siblings that I found in northern Utah and today I am posting images of that burrow after spending yesterday morning being delighted by them once more.
Yesterday while wandering around in northern Utah I spotted an adult and then 5 sibling Burrowing Owls also showed up to perch on an old fence line.
Female Yellow-headed Blackbirds are often overlooked by casual viewers and bird photographers because they aren't as flashy as the males.