This is a win/win proposal for the National Wildlife Refuge System and for everyone who visits them. For every person who is concerned about the future of out National Wildlife Refuges and for every organization who supports conservation of our public lands and the nation's wildlife.
Yesterday this Black-billed Magpie turned in flight while I was photographing it which allowed me a great dorsal view that showed the iridescent colors well.
There was a sharp, cold wind blowing from the north yesterday and before I was finished photographing these Black-billed Magpies my hands had gone numb.
I'm hoping to go on a "Goose Chase" this morning, the sky is supposed to be clear so there should be good light and I would be delighted to see some snow, Snow Geese that is!
Fairly soon I'll be seeing many more of the male Red-winged Blackbirds perching at the top of rushes and cattails singing springtime serenades for the females and flashing their brilliantly colored epaulets
This juvenile Red-naped Sapsucker image was taken on my first camping trip in the high Uintas in Summit County, Utah not far from Christmas Meadows.
Yesterday I spotted this lone Coyote walking in the snow on a hillside on Antelope Island State Park and stopped to take some images of it before it disappeared into the brush.
I spotted a flock of Horned Larks in Box Elder County, some were foraging on the road and a few were perched on mounds of snow that someone had plowed. It seemed like the ones on the snow were just enjoying the sunshine.
Last month I was able to take images of American Tree Sparrows on two different days in very different conditions in about the same location on Antelope Island State Park.
Just a simple high key image of a hen Ring-necked Pheasant this morning that was taken in January at Farmington Bay WMA in Davis County, Utah.
It is cloudy and snowing hard outside this morning so I dug into my files and edited these nesting Osprey images I took last year at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in Utah.
Just a simple juvenile Red-tailed Hawk this morning that I took last year on Antelope Island State Park as it flew past me with the dark Farmington complex rocks in the background.
Yesterday I spotted a Coyote on Antelope Island, it was down a slope near a herd of Pronghorn and not in the best of light. I noticed almost right away that the Coyote was limping rather badly.
Yes, more Chukars in the snow! I spotted this Chukar on top of a mound of snow that the plow had pushed to the side of the road on Antelope Island State Park.
This year hasn't provided me with as many opportunities to photograph Rough-legged Hawks as last winter did and before long these raptors will be heading to the high Arctic to find mates on their breeding grounds.
Some people might not find high key photos to their tastes but I find that I enjoy them because of their simplicity and how the high key background allows my eyes to focus clearly on my subject's form and beauty.
Great Blue Herons are year round residents in both Florida and Utah although conditions during the winter months can be starkly different for these large wading birds in the two locations and climates.
Perched American Barn Owl images might not be as dynamic as those when the owl's are in flight but I enjoy them just as much as I do those with more action.
When I look at these two snowy Chukar images I sense a moodiness in the first image that the second one doesn't seem to convey.
Isn't this Short-eared Owl lovely with her big yellow eyes? It had been a while since I had seen a Short-eared Owl and I was quite surprised when I spotted her on top of some snow-covered Rabbitbrush late last month along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park.
Just a few Red-tailed Hawk images that I have been meaning to process and share.
One of my favorite locations to photograph birds in northern Utah is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I've selected some of the birds there that delight and entertain me while I observe and photograph them.
Awhile back someone told me that Mergansers don't change their plumage seasonally, which is of course incorrect as all three species of mergansers that live in North America do.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge has five species of swallows, they are Tree, Northern Rough-winged, Violet-green, Cliff and Barn Swallows.
In my post yesterday I shared a Coyote photo in the snow and wanted to share a few more of the Coyotes I saw on Antelope Island State Park on Monday.
Yesterday when I saw this running Chukar image on my camera LCD in mid-stride and mid-air I had to chuckle because it looks something like a feathered Nerf football some one tossed across the snow.
Today I thought I would post images of the juvenile Buteos that I see most often in Utah and Montana, they are Red-tailed, Rough-legged, Ferruginous and Swainson's Hawks.
Fog can add a moody feel to images and yesterday there was plenty of fog at Farmington Bay WMA. There were a few Barn Owls hunting for food and I captured images of this one as it flew towards me.
I haven't had many opportunities to photograph the Harlan's subspecies of the Red-tailed Hawk so I was thrilled yesterday when I spotted a juvenile dark morph Harlan's Hawk feeding on a dead American Coot on the bank of a creek.
The adult Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons aren't terribly difficult to tell apart though the juveniles can be more of a challenge.