Yesterday morning I spotted a lone Common Merganser at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area nearly hidden in some phragmites and when we came around the corner the bird seemed to have disappeared but after a bit it came out from its hiding spot and gave us quite a show.
Gray Flycatchers are generally found in sagebrush and arid busy habitats so it was a real treat to see this one in the marshy habitat of the refuge.
I like gulls. I especially like being able to see them up close when the opportunities arise and will take advantage of my close proximity by taking portraits of these beautiful but often disliked birds.
One great bird can make a day or even an entire trip worthwhile and this particular Red-tailed Hawk photographed in Utah County has made two days wonderful so far.
What do you mean it is only Thursday?
Today I have just a few images of a Red-tailed Hawk I spotted yesterday on a power pole in Utah County near the southern part of the Oquirrh Mountain Range.
I like the setting contained in this image with a frost covered branches of a shrub with reddish bark that the White-crowned Sparrow perched on close to the entrance to Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
But for me the "Snow Birds" I have grown to love here in Utah are Rough-legged Hawks who only visit in the winter and spend the rest of their lives breeding in high subarctic and Arctic regions.
One of the birds I photographed yesterday was this handsome Red-tailed Hawk that I spotted in a tree at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
Farmington Bay Waterfowl Area used to be my "go to" place for photographing Northern Harriers but this winter they are hard to find.
I was going to do a post about a Bald Eagle this morning but at the last minute had a change of mind and decided to work up this male American Kestrel that I photographed resting near the shore of the Great Salt Lake.
The weather forecast for today isn't as bright as it was on the day last January when I photographed this Chukar walking across a field of fresh snow instead the forecast for today is rather dreary.
Even though I have been a bird photographer for some time now I still get a thrill when I am eye level with a bird of prey because it feels as if I am more strongly connected to the raptor when they fly in close at eye level.
In January in Florida the Great Blue Herons are already going into breeding plumage and have begun courtship displays and have started building their nests.
In the winter I shoot a lot in fog, smog and low light conditions here in northern Utah but if you follow my blog you probably already know that and have heard me mention it a time or two (or four or a hundred).
Male Ring-necked Pheasants add a vivid splash of color against a field of white at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, I photographed this male a few days ago as it foraged in the snow.
Seeing the tail end... of 2013 on this last day of December.
While photographing Barn Owls last January I caught a small movement out of the corner of my eye and noticed a Song Sparrow foraging for seeds on the snow covered ground.
I have had so many opportunities with Golden Eagles and each time something goes wrong.
Rough-legged Hawks are among my favorites of the raptors that over winter in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah because I only see them at this time of the year while they wait to head back to the subarctic and Arctic to breed.
Last week I did a post on the many nicknames used for Barn Owls and among them was "Ghost Owl" and for some reason when I first looked at this frame I thought the blurred wings did make it look "ghostly".
Happy Holidays - White Crowned Sparrow
I spotted this beautiful Barn Owl yesterday along the side of a dirt road at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, the light was dreadful but I still enjoyed watching it as it captured prey and ate it, preened, flew and rested.
I couldn't find Ten Lords a Leaping to photograph or in my archives but did locate one Gray Ghost a Leaping which tops the Lords for this bird photographer.
This Red-tailed Hawk image was taken just after the juvenile lifted off from the nest box and while I love the pose I do wish the light had been a bit better.
I prefer using the common name "Barn Owl" because that is most likely where I first saw one because I started my life out as a farmer's daughter and saw plenty of barns.
Patience is absolutely a must for bird photographers and it doesn't hurt to throw a little crazy in the mix too. Spending two hours in freezing temps to photograph a bird might be a little crazy.
It might look like this Great Blue Heron is hacking up some type of fluid seen in between and to the left of its bill but that is actually a hunk of ice attached to the heron's breast feathers.
Male Ring-necked Pheasants are a bold splash of rainbow colors against the white snow laying on the ground right now at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
The American Kestrel had just finished devouring a small bird of some sort, I really couldn't tell what it was because there were only a few small feathers left by the time I spotted the tiny falcon and when we stopped to photographer her.