Male American Kestrel Chest Plumage Variation
Two recent posts on Facebook inspired me to write about male American Kestrel chest plumage variation and to share six images of male kestrels photographed here in Utah.
Two recent posts on Facebook inspired me to write about male American Kestrel chest plumage variation and to share six images of male kestrels photographed here in Utah.
I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.
Last month I spent twenty-eight lovely minutes photographing this first winter Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.
Winter Herring Gulls have arrived in northern Utah and I am excited that I will have opportunities to photograph this gull species again.
This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.
Yesterday morning at Farmington Bay I found and photographed a second winter Black-crowned Night Heron at the edge of the frozen marsh.
One of my Christmas Day gifts from Mother Nature was the chance to photograph an immature Great Blue Heron in a field.
What we can see are greenish, lobed feet and a dark, rounded body. With just those two identification features can you guess which bird these feet belong to?
Much to my delight I was able to photograph some birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.
Today I wanted to share some of the Christmas Day bird photos I have taken through the years out in the field and close to home.
When I found this Great Blue Heron resting on a man made goose nest yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA I knew I wanted to photograph it.
Early in December while at Farmington Bay WMA I was able to photograph and take videos of Northern Shovelers feeding on Glover Pond.
During the winter there are times I am able to photograph Barn Owls in flight during the day when the snow is deep and the temps are bitter cold.
I'm concerned for our wild American Mink and have begun to wonder of the coronavirus could be passed to the other native mustelids here in Utah.
Great Blue Herons are very patient hunters and there are times when they are hunting that they move so slowly that it is barely perceptible.
I have a backlog of raptor images I took earlier this week but I wanted to share one of a species that some people hate or many bird photographers prefer to ignore, the European Starling.
Three days ago I had one minute with a beautiful adult female American Kestrel and her partially eaten prey at Farmington Bay WMA.
Think carefully before you make a trip to Utah to photograph our overwintering Bald Eagles in the valley. The inversions are awful and can be life threatening.
Today I am focusing on an adult male Northern Harrier that I had in my viewfinder for a few seconds yesterday that was on the wing over the marsh.
Typically I have a personal rule about having eye contact with my subject and I also want a catch light but to get this coot photo I had to break my own bird photography rules.
I was only going to share this image today but as I processed this photo I thought about all the times I have photographed American Kestrels on this same exact post over the years.
All three of the Hooded Mergansers were close to me because there was a shelf of ice that prevented them from swimming out into the middle of the pond.
I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it.
I saw a few harriers on the wing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA and I was able to take a few photos of a female Northern Harrier that still had frost on her nape.
I could see a Bald Eagle being chased by a gull in the sky and my heart skipped a beat because I know it is time for me to keep an eye on the sky for Bald Eagles again.
Three days ago I spotted an immature Great Blue Heron resting at the edge of the water at Farmington Bay WMA and couldn't resist taking photos of it.
You take photos of ten species of birds and the twelve photos of a Ring-billed Gull in flight are the images you are the most excited to view when you get home.
Any time I can see and photograph two falcon species in a single day is a great day and yesterday I photographed a Prairie Merlin and several American Kestrels.
It has been too long since I have had a Northern Harrier in my viewfinder although I'm now excited because I know that fall and winter are great seasons for me to find and photograph them.
In the right light Brewer's Blackbird males are very colorful because their feathers glow with blue, green, and purple iridescence.