Both of these portraits of a first winter Ring-billed Gull are of the same bird taken one minute apart just as the light changed from okay to much brighter where the gull had changed its location but only slightly.
Primarily I focused on a drake Common Goldeneye that was busy foraging for food and that kept diving under the surface of the water close enough to take frame filling images of him.
This Redhead isn't "angry" at all but it does look angry to my eyes and this morning I'm feeling about as angry as this duck looks. I'll explain but first I have to give a bit more information about how my mornings start.
Even though this drake Ruddy Duck is small in the frame I liked this image because of the silky blue water, the small wake behind the duck, the direct eye contact and how some of the blue of this drake's bill is visible.
I removed the "Just A" from the title for this post and added "Focusing On A" instead. Why? Because I was focused on observing and photographing this Ring-billed Gull drinking from an icy pond and I'm happy to say that I was.
American Wigeons are here in this area of northern Utah year round but I seem to have my best opportunities with them during the winter. I'm delighted that this drake came in so close.
The birds I photographed the most yesterday were a pair of Hooded Mergansers that were actively foraging for prey most of the time I had them in my viewfinder.
Being at eye level with this Rough-legged Hawk carrying prey along the causeway to Antelope Island is an experience I won't soon forget.
So... I did get out into the field yesterday but heavy fog got in the way of being able to see birds and the great scenery I know I could see at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
In the case of this photo of a lone Canada Goose flying in front of the snowy Wasatch Mountains I took the photo because I liked how nicely lit the goose was in contrast to the darker, snow and cloud covered mountains.
I am itching to get back out into the field and one of the places I am most excited to get back to is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Box Elder County, Utah because of the Tundra Swans that I know are there.
On January 2nd I noticed a Ring-billed Gull coming in for a landing on an iced over pond that was missing a leg and foot and I wondered how well it would handle the slippery ice while attempting to land on it.
This image of a Pied-billed Grebe with a crayfish in its bill running across the water is one of those photos where I wish I could show the second grebe just outside of the frame chasing after it.
By sharing these photos today my intention is to show that there are times when photographic rules can be broken because the appeal of images or the lack of appeal is all about the individual tastes of the photographer taking the photos and those of the people that view them.
I can remember the day I photographed this American Bison bull grazing with snow on the ground clearly in part because I was seeing the island with a friend who hadn't been there before which is akin to seeing the area with fresh eyes.
While photographing a California Gull on ice two days ago I was reminded of how well these gulls survive the bitter cold we have here at times during the winter even when the ponds, lakes and rivers freeze over.
There were some images of the bathing Pied-billed Grebe I did like because they showed a view of the grebe I don't share all that often, the back side of the grebe. They have cute little bottoms, so why not?
What caught my eyes was that one of the cormorants was smaller, sleeker and darker than the other two birds and before I even scoped it through my lens I knew that I had found an out of season Neotropic Cormorant.
The road ahead is wide open and I'm excited to move forward, to explore more, get lost in nature more often, more moments to enjoy the sounds of being in the wilderness, to enjoy more.
At home when I could see the photos I had taken on a much larger screen I nearly choked on my laughter when I saw this image of the coot vigorously shaking its food
It took a long time but I have gotten On The Wing Photography moved to the new server.
Snow and clouds are in the forecast for today and I have decided that today is the day for me to migrate On The Wing Photography over to the new server that I mentioned a while back.
I really did get a Christmas Goose yesterday when I spotted my first of winter Snow Goose that was resting on a boulder near the banks of the Jordan River yesterday.
I'm happy that I was able to photograph birds on Christmas Eve in decent light and that somehow to me this is more than "just" a goose, it is a Christmas Goose and who am I to look a gift goose in the bill?
After looking through all of those images I decided to share a photo today of an immature Rough-legged Hawk perched on a waterfowl rest area sign taken at Farmington Bay WMA on Christmas Eve day in 2013.
I got lucky when a first winter drake Common Goldeneye flew towards me while coming in for a landing on the pond in sweet late afternoon light.
I really can't pin down why I like this mallard photo and honestly I don't feel a need to figure out why I do. I simply do.
I recently became aware that there were ads at the bottom of the email that was automatically sent out to you all when I published my blog post this morning.
I'm glad I had a few seconds to photograph this Great-tailed Grackle up close in the warm afternoon light before it was flushed and flew away.
The light was best when the geese flew in front of the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains which is when I photographed this flying Canada Goose with its wings above its body.