Winter Redhead Drakes in Northern Utah
Redhead drakes are more colorful than the hens and I always enjoy having them in my viewfinder because of their cinnamon colored heads, their bright orange eyes and their tri-colored bills.
Redhead drakes are more colorful than the hens and I always enjoy having them in my viewfinder because of their cinnamon colored heads, their bright orange eyes and their tri-colored bills.
It can be especially fun to watch these small grebes catch a fish to eat and then see the other Pied-billed Grebes nearby try to steal the fish away from it because of the action that can occur.
Within the flock of blackbirds there was a female Brewer's Blackbird that drew my attention to her because she had light colored eyes and stood out from the other females that were nearby.
Many species of birds on Antelope Island State Park are pigging out on wild sunflower seeds at this time of the year including Red-winged Blackbirds.
The birds and beasts on Antelope can survive the harsh winters here but as each years passes I wonder how they will be able to adapt to our changing climate. I can't help but be concerned.
I have been having fairly good luck spotting American Tree Sparrows this fall and when this one popped up on top of a greasewood yesterday I was delighted.
While looking for an image in my archives I came across this photo of a Marsh Wren making a funny face while doing the splits on some cattails at Farmington Bay WMA and wanted to share it.
Yesterday an early morning session with a Coyote, the Great Salt Lake and some rocks made my day, I was so very happy to photograph the "Song Dog".
I wasn't sure I wanted to write this post about an imprisoned Lark Sparrow I heard about on a Facebook group that is about identifying birds but after mulling it over I decided I'd tell the story.
There are big differences in the ways I photograph Greater Yellowlegs here in Utah than there were when I photographed them in Florida.
Earlier this week while photographing birds at Farmington Bay WMA I was able to take images of a one second scuffle between two American Pipits.
I have an alternate title for this post which is "Invasive European Starlings perched on invasive Russian Olives" because both the birds in this post and the trees are not native but introduced.
I always have fun photographing Brewer's Blackbirds even though they are a challenge to expose properly, it is precisely that challenge that keeps me on my toes.
American Pipits aren't flashy birds, their coloring might even be called drab by some people, but I have a great time photographing them whenever I can.
Yesterday morning while looking for birds to photograph on Antelope Island State Park I had two White-crowned Sparrows fly into a rabbitbrush that was so close to me that all I could do was take portraits of them.
The plumage of male juvenile Red-winged Blackbirds is highly variable during their first year, some of the young blackbirds can look like females and some can look more like adult males.
I've been seeing plenty of White-crowned Sparrows on Antelope Island State Park of late and yesterday they were busy feeding on the wild sunflowers that grow there.
It was a real treat for me yesterday morning to photograph another Sagebrush Sparrow on Antelope Island State Park when I spotted it pop up on a clump of greasewood.
I spotted my first of the season Merlin yesterday morning out on the flats at Farmington Bay yesterday morning and it truly delighted me.
Last month I was able to photograph flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes on the Great Salt Lake when they were migrating through the area.
I can't pick a favorite between these two Song Sparrow photos because I find them both visually appealing and I don't feel a need or a desire to pick one over the other.
Just a simple post today of a simple bird, a dorsal view of a Ring-billed Gull in flight over a water feature at Farmington Bay WMA.
When I spotted this White-crowned Sparrow perched on a blooming rabbitbrush yesterday I quickly swung my lens toward it, focused and started taking photos as quickly as I could.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets are tiny little songbirds weighing in at a mere 0.23 ounces but what they lack in size they make up for in high-powered energy, they just don't sit still.
I think the Sagebrush Sparrows are beautiful, elegant birds and I want more photos of them than I have!
It has been a long time since I have had such a birdy day and the towhees, warblers, kinglets, gnatcatchers and the rest of the birds that I saw thrilled me all morning long.
I took this photo of two Pine Siskins in the autumn of 2015 as they perched together on a wild sunflower at Farmington Bay WMA where they appeared to be having a tiff over the seeds.
This Western Meadowlark perched on a blooming Rabbitbrush the first September after I had moved to Utah and I was thrilled to take this photograph on Antelope Island State Park.
I've been hearing American Pipits on the wing for a while now and yesterday I was happy to photograph several pipits while they perched on some rocks in northern Utah.
I've written before that I love American Coots and I guess that will never change, I will stop for coots any time I see them, I will photograph them and enjoy their antics.