Utah

Juvenile Western Kingbirds in Box Elder County, Utah

By |July 25th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Western Kingbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Juvenile Western Kingbirds may look sweet like this one does perched on a fence but they can be rather pushy when it comes to demanding food from their parents and they are also quite noisy too while they are begging.

Blooming Common Mullein In The Wasatch Mountains

By |July 23rd, 2018|Categories: Common Mullein, Summit County, Utah, Wildflowers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

As a child I remember plucking the leaves of Common Mullein just to touch them because the leaves were as soft as well worn flannel, their yellow flowers didn't interest me much but the soft leaves sure did.

Crappy Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron in Flight Photo

By |July 21st, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I've taken my share of crappy photos during the time I have been focused on photographing birds but this photo of a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron crapping in flight may be the crappiest of them all.

Male Flame Skimmer Dragonfly – Libellula saturata

By |July 20th, 2018|Categories: Box Elder County, Dragonflies, Flame Skimmers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I caught a flash of orange that drew my eye and watched as this male Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) dragonfly landed on a branch not far from where I had parked my Jeep.

Incredible Phalarope Migration Happening Now at the Great Salt Lake

By |July 19th, 2018|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Red-necked Phalaropes, Utah, Wilson's Phalaropes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Red-necked and Wilson's Phalaropes have started their fall migration and one of the places where they gather in large numbers is the Great Salt Lake where they show up in the tens of thousands to feed and rest before continuing their journey.

Sibling Red-tailed Hawk Juveniles Perched & On The Wing

By |July 17th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Back in March of this year I started watching and photographing a pair of Red-tailed Hawks in the process of building their nest on the face of a high cliff, these two juveniles are the results of the hard work of that pair of hawks.

Great Salt Lake Brine Flies – Important Food Source For California Gulls

By |July 14th, 2018|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Brine Flies, California Gulls, Davis County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Brine flies that live in the Great Salt Lake are an important food source for California Gulls and watching the gulls feed on the flies is fascinating as they use several techniques to catch them.

Fritillary Butterfly – Other Things With Wings

By |July 13th, 2018|Categories: Summit County, Utah, Wildlife|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm going to ask for help later on today from bugguide.net with the identification of this fritillary butterfly. I don't normally have to ask for identification assistance but I need it for this other thing with wings.

Spiders Of Antelope Island – They Aren’t So Creepy

By |July 10th, 2018|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah, Western Spotted Orbweaver|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Every year in August Antelope Island has a SpiderFest where there are walks and talks about the spiders of that live on the island, I love photographing them and they really aren't so creepy as they seem to be.

Refreshing Winter Scenery and the Tundra Swans of Bear River MBR

By |July 9th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Sometimes when the summer heat gets to me I look back at images I have taken during the winter and quite often I find those images to be taken at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the birds that I find there.

Male American Goldfinch Feasting On Musk Thistle Seeds

By |July 7th, 2018|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wildflowers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A flash of yellow, black and white on a purple flower immediately drew my eyes to a male American Goldfinch feasting on the seeds of a Musk Thistle so I stopped, turned my Jeep off and proceeded to photograph the bird.

Yellow Warbler Fledgling Foraging On Its Own

By |July 5th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Utah, Yellow Warblers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Imagine moving down a gravel road and seeing just a tiny flash of movement and light-colored plumage in a stand of green vegetation and trying to figure out if it is a bright leaf in the breeze or a fledgling Yellow Warbler in a split second.

Snowy Plovers – Photographed in the West and East

By |July 4th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Snowy Plovers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is always nice to be able to point out a lifer bird to someone else and that is what I did on June 25th after I spotted a tiny Snowy Plover at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge foraging in the mud.

Gray Catbird, Willows and Sunshine

By |July 3rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Gray Catbirds, Summit County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I have truly been enjoying being able to photograph Gray Catbirds this spring and summer because they are challenging to get out in the open, because I think they are dashing in appearance and their songs always delight me.

Photographing Yellow Warblers Feeding Their Fledglings – Fun and Frustration

By |July 2nd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Utah, Yellow Warblers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday I had fun and frustration while photographing Yellow Warblers feeding their fledglings up in a Wasatch Mountain canyon, fun because it is always great to see them and frustration because of the setting they were in combined with a breeze.

Are Great Blue Herons Breeding at Higher Elevations Due to Climate Change?

By |June 28th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Great Blue Herons, Summit County, Utah, Video|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm wondering now if Great Blue Herons here in Utah might already be adapting to climate change by moving higher up into the mountain valleys and canyons that have suitable food and water supplies to breed and nest.

Unexpected Fledgling Short-eared Owl Rescue Mission

By |June 27th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday I planned to stay home to try to get caught up on the many things that are on my plate and to stay out of the heat but unbeknownst to me that plan was going to change at 6:31 in the morning and that I would soon be on a rescue mission.

Gray Catbirds with Black Twinberry Honeysuckle Berries

By |June 26th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Close up, Gray Catbirds, Habitat, Shrubs, Summit County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm going to keep trying to obtain better photos of the Gray Catbirds with the Black Twinberry berries and perhaps before long the catbirds will bring their young to feast on these berries too!

Landing Broad-tailed Hummingbird Male Displaying His Colorful Gorget

By |June 25th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Morgan County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Knowing that this is a favorite perch has given me opportunities I might have missed if I hadn't been paying attention to the behavior of this tiny Broad-tailed Hummingbird since their arrival this spring.

Go to Top