Immature Great Blue Heron in a Snow Storm
As I focused on the Great Blue Heron I could tell it was an immature bird braving its first winter alone in the marshes of Farmington Bay.
As I focused on the Great Blue Heron I could tell it was an immature bird braving its first winter alone in the marshes of Farmington Bay.
Wilson's Snipes are medium-sized, stocky shorebirds that can be found in Utah year round despite the ice, freezing temperatures and heavy snow we have here during our winters.
This first year Red-tailed Hawk close up in the snow storm was a reminder of how much our birds and wildlife have to struggle to get through the harsh winter.
I had fun photographing the Common Raven and the Common Goldeneyes yesterday and even though the cold temps made my fingers numb, these birds were the highlight of my day.
The bird that started my day was an immature Prairie Falcon at sunrise next to the Great Salt Lake and as the sun started to rise the falcon seemed to glow.
For most of the year Ring-billed and California Gulls are some of the most common gulls here in northern Utah and for some people it might be challenging to tell them apart.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph the continuing male Belted Kingfisher with the snow-covered marsh in the background, a few times he even had prey.
The earth deserves better than we have given her, future generations deserve better than we are currently leaving them.
I was able to photograph a Long-tailed Weasel in its white winter coat two years ago at Farmington Bay WMA and although I liked the images they really weren't what I truly desire.
Is it any wonder I feel like the juvenile White-crowned Sparrow in this photo that is hiding its head? My inbox is getting junked up and my delete key is smoking from deleting the Cyber Monday sales pitches.
Near the auto tour route though I saw what appeared to be 250 to 300 Red-breasted Mergansers on the Bear River. I think it was the largest raft of Red-breasted Mergansers I have ever seen.
I am thankful for living as long as I have and for being able to live my life the way I want to and to be able to pursue my passion of bird, wildlife and nature photography.
I had fun photographing a male Belted Kingfisher at Farmington Bay as he caught prey and ate it on a post near a little creek.
Last month I captured a series of images of an immature Pied-billed Grebe running across the water with prey in its bill at Farmington Bay WMA.
Today I am celebrating having published 2000 posts on birds, wildlife and nature at On The Wing Photography and sharing the stories behind the images along with the journeys I take to find my subjects.
On the last day of 2015 I photographed this Song Sparrow without a tail on Antelope Island State Park during the early morning while frost still clung to branch the sparrow was perched on.
Well, it finally snowed in the Salt Lake Valley last night and when I woke there was a layer of snow on the grass outside my window.
Although there is speculation that one day Marsh Wrens might be split into Eastern and Western species for this post the word split is only about a pose I see Marsh Wrens in quite often.
Twice in the past two weeks I have seen Bald Eagles, one four year old bird in flight over the marshes at Farmington Bay WMA and one juvenile perched in a tree up in Box Elder County.
Most of the American Avocets have migrated away from northern Utah but most years we can have a few stragglers that haven't migrated by this time of the year
This time of the year I start looking for Peregrine Falcons to show up near the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake because of the high numbers of ducks that are usually there.
A few days ago I photographed this adult White-crowned Sparrow perched on a wild rose bush that is absolutely covered in red rose hips at Farmington Bay WMA.
Yesterday at Farmington Bay I was pleased to photograph this juvenile Northern Harrier female in flight as she went past me while I sat in a mobile blind.
I was able take one image of the American Kestrel landing with a grasshopper in his bill that was sharp and that I liked.
I am so glad the American Bison were saved from extinction and that I see the Antelope Island State Park herd as often as I do.
I was delighted by several tiny Marsh Wrens foraging in some cattails close enough to photograph with autumn colors in the background.
I wasn't expecting to see a handsome male Belted Kingfisher at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday but that is exactly what happened and I was able to get some nice photos of him too.
Several of the Red-winged Blackbirds were feeding on the fluffy rabbitbrush seeds next to a parking area including this male.
Red-breasted Mergansers do not breed in Utah, they breed much further north in Alaska, across northern Canada to New Newfoundland and the Great Lakes of Michigan but they do migrate through this area.
I took a series of action photos of this immature Pied-billed Grebe running on the water with its prey as it was being chased by another grebe that was trying to steal the food this young grebe had caught.