ABA Bird Of The Year 2022 – The Burrowing Owl!
It was announced yesterday that the Burrowing Owl is the 2022 ABA Bird of the Year! Burrowing Owls are small, long-legged, sandy-colored, charismatic owls with bright yellow eyes.
It was announced yesterday that the Burrowing Owl is the 2022 ABA Bird of the Year! Burrowing Owls are small, long-legged, sandy-colored, charismatic owls with bright yellow eyes.
Nine days ago this Rough-legged Hawk resting on a National Wildlife sign in low light was the first hawk I spotted and photographed.
On my last trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I found this Loggerhead Shrike perched on a twig near the end of the auto tour loop.
I spotted a single female Hooded Merganser on the Bear River two days ago and photographed her as she ran on top of the water to lift off.
Yesterday I found and pointed out a few birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge including a very late Clark's Grebe I spotted from the auto tour route.
Last week I spotted a Merlin perched on a large wooden post way out in the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah.
Yesterday I heard a male Rough-legged Hawk calling which is highly unusual away from their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra and taiga of the far north.
I've been seeing and hearing American Pipits since the end of September but this was the first time this fall I was able to get close to them.
Yesterday morning at Bear River MBR I spotted a single Eared Grebe in the marsh and stopped to take photos of it.
Every fall and winter when Lesser and Greater Scaups are seen in northern Utah I hear questions about scaup identification.
Despite how rough this year has been this morning on Thanksgiving Day I want to write about thankfulness and gratitude.
A few days ago I saw someone say that they rarely saw photos of Ruddy Ducks in flight and I remembered I had a series of them flying past taken 11 years ago.
Yesterday morning I spotted this dark morph Red-tailed Hawk high on a cliff and I was able to photograph him as he lifted off with prey in his talons.
I spotted this Wild Turkey hen walking on a rusty, metal beam of a dilapidated pole barn and I knew that I had to take images of her.
Had I taken these Loggerhead Shrike photos four to five years ago the background wouldn't have been dry lake bed. It would have shown water. Precious, life-giving water.
Yesterday morning the first birds I focused on taking photos of were Wild Turkey toms as they displayed for each other on desert ranchlands in northern Utah.
Earlier this month I had an opportunity to take a few fall Song Sparrow photos while way up in Box Elder County in northern Utah.
I selected this hatch year Great Blue Heron photo to share today because it showed the young bird taking a crap on the flats of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Almost one year ago I spotted a Common Loon floating on the Bear River after a somewhat disappointing morning for birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
This morning I noticed in my Facebook memories that I saw and heard my first of season Tundra Swans at Bear River MBR on this date in 2015 and that made me happy.
When I was way up north in Box Elder County three days ago I had the opportunity to take immature White-crowned Sparrow photos with fall colors in the frames.
The first photos I took with my newly refurbished Nikon D500 with a new shutter assembly were of this Wild Turkey hen foraging on desert ranchlands.
This adult Loggerhead Shrike perched on a Fragrant Sumac was among the birds that I found yesterday morning way up in northern Utah.
I almost missed finding this adult dark morph Red-tailed Hawk last Sunday because when I first spotted the hawk he was behind a tree in dark shadows but I recognized the shape and form of the raptor.
Phragmites fix or fail? I think my photos through the years provide the answer.
I found quite a few birds yesterday in far northern Utah and of all the photos I took this autumn Townsend's Solitaire was my favorite.
Four years ago I found a Marsh Wren perched on a Cocklebur on a bright October morning in the wetlands of the refuge.
Monday morning I saw a group of three Mule Deer bucks slowly moving through tall vegetation in the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
I got lucky at one rabbitbrush when I found a Clouded Sulphur butterfly nectaring on what I believe is a Rubber Rabbitbrush.
Nearly hidden in the marsh vegetation was an immature Black-crowned Night Heron perched on some phrags at the edge of the water.