During the summer months I don't often see Bald Eagles unless I go up into the high country or travel north of Utah to Idaho, Wyoming or Montana but in the Salt Lake Valley many Bald Eagles come in to spend the winter.
Today I had the pleasure of photographing with not just one but two wonderful friends and fellow photographers. To be sure they are much more "fellow" than I am but I don't hold that against them.
Many of my regular readers probably know that I have been having a great time the past month photographing Rough-legged Hawks and Prairie Falcons so I selected an image of a Prairie Falcon to post for my Friday Photos today.
It seems that people either love high key images or they hate them. Personally; I believe that when a high key image is done well that they can be very appealing and have a place for them in my portfolio.
To those hunters who recognized and respected the rarity of those beautiful and very uncommon birds, you have my respect and I am personally very grateful that you preferred to give these ducks a pass even though you knew that hunting them was legal.
I can relate to the hawk in a way, just like it doesn't always get the prey it is intent on, I don't always get the shots I want.
I'm excited that two Great Horned Owls are using the same roosting location on Antelope Island.
Last week though I had the opportunity to photograph a very cooperative Rough-legged Hawk preening.
I adore Burrowing Owls, especially the juveniles because they can be funny, serious looking, comical and at times they act like clowns.
I have been very pleased to add so many images of Rough-legged Hawks to my portfolio in just the past week and hopefully these Roughies will stick around until late February of next year so there will be many more opportunities.
Wow, two nemesis birds photographed in a week, this Prairie Falcon was amazing. I'll be grinning (and dancing) about this for quite awhile!
Eureka! The Rough-legged Hawks are back from their high subarctic and Arctic breeding grounds and they seem to be showing up in larger numbers than I have seen them since I moved to Utah.
My favorite name for Great Horned Owls is "The Tiger of the Sky" and it is very descriptive of this large, fierce owl.
Ferruginous Hawks are the largest hawks found in North America, the "regalis" in the latin name means "kingly" or "regal" and I have to agree with those descriptions.
Red-tailed Hawk with Long-billed syndrome, a perfect example of the sickle-bill form (the worst) all the way over in Utah and the first I am aware of for that state.
Ravens hold a special place in my heart because they are smart (actually brilliant for birds), collectors of things shiny and/or odd, they let you know about their presence with hoarse croaking sounds and they are very amusing to observe and photograph.
I have learned that you have to be prepared to be a bird photographer and additionally that you need to be fast because birds are free moving creatures. There are times that you simply don't or won't have time to change your camera's settings.
I used to dream about getting images like this one of Pronghorns when all I had was a simple Point & Shoot camera and I could never get close enough to the pronghorns to achieve my dreams. Now I can.
Photographing birds during Autumn is a wonderful time for me in Utah, the beautiful fall colors delight and enthrall me, the air gets nippy and I find myself feeling a surge of energy whenever I am outdoors.
Last month I spotted this Coyote in the golden light of dawn while it hunted in the grasses on Antelope Island State Park. With light so sweet, how could I resist?
I can't acquire focus on the Lunatic Sage Thrashers because they don't ever stay still long enough, they race around willy-nilly until dizziness forces me to stop watching them. Think Ricochet Rabbit.
I spent the rest of the trip in the San Rafael Swell area very carefully watching where I put my feet because I didn't want another Close Encounter of the Snake Kind!
Yesterday I came across this very cooperative male Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris). This male bird preened for a full seven minutes and I took 256 images of it.
This October 3rd I spotted this pronghorn for the third or fourth time in this past year only this time I had good light, the buck wasn't far away and because it is rut season he was only paying attention to the does and other bucks in the area.
I've only photographed Bighorn Sheep (Mountain Sheep some people call them) a few times and here they were, calmly foraging close to where I was! I was thrilled and excited.
Another wonderful change that I have been seeing is that a variety of duck species have been arriving at the Great Salt Lake
I'm looking forward to the crisp cool air after all the summer heat but most of all I am looking forward to the birds I have missed seeing during the hottest part of the year
Earlier this year in March I wrote an article titled "Burrowing Owls - Loved to Death?" and this post is a sequel to it.
Coyotes and wolves help to cull out the sick and weak animals in herds of deer, antelope and elk which in turn can help to keep those herds in better health
A few days ago I had the opportunity to take images of California Gulls feeding on brine flies along shoreline of the Great Salt Lake next to the causeway to Antelope Island