Dark Morph Swainson’s Hawk – Possibly The Darkest I Have Ever Seen
Just about one year ago I was thrilled to photograph a very cooperative dark morph Swainson's Hawk that is possibly the darkest, dark morph I have ever seen.
Yellow-bellied Marmot Pups Exploring Beyond Their Burrow
The two times I have observed and photographed these Yellow-bellied Marmot pups I have enjoyed watching them explore the area around their burrow, not only are they cute they are also entertaining.
More Frustrations With Photographing Golden Eagles
I get absolutely tired of the frustrations I have had trying to photograph Golden Eagles, it seems that something or someone always messes with my chances of getting the images I want of them.
Terrific Fun Photographing a Yellow-bellied Marmot Pup Climbing a Fence!
It looked to me like this Yellow-bellied Marmot pup was doing CrossFit, a move my son who is active in CrossFit tells me is called a "bar muscle up". By then I was laughing so hard that it was hard to maintain focus on the marmot pup while it was hanging there on the fence.
Snowy Egrets Have Migrated Back To Northern Utah
When I lived in Florida I saw Snowy Egrets year round and that kind of spoiled me but here in Utah they leave for the winter and come back to the marshes and wetlands surrounding the Great Salt Lake for their breeding season.
Reporting Wing Tagged American White Pelicans – Helping Birds by Helping the PELI Project
I know that I will be reporting any wing tagged American White Pelicans I see while they are here in northern Utah and I hope that others will too and help out the Peli Project!
Horned Lark With Redstem Filaree – Birds & Wildflowers
Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph a male Horned Lark on Antelope Island State Park that included Redstem Filaree in the photos and I was delighted, that pop of bright color sure says "spring" to me.
Adult Turkey Vulture in flight close up – Almost Too close
When the third Turkey Vulture lifted off I expected it to go north like the other two vultures had but instead it flew south and very close to where I was at the side of the road in a vehicle being used as a mobile blind, almost too close.
Female Yellow-bellied Marmot and Her Five Pups
The most fun I had yesterday wasn't photographing my feathered friends instead it was while I photographed a female Yellow-bellied Marmot and her five delightful pups.
Celebrating Twenty-five Hundred Posts at On The Wing Photography
Today I am celebrating my 2500th post here at On The Wing Photography! I've been sharing my photography and the stories behind the images since 2010 here on my site and what a ride it has been.
Cooper’s Hawk With Prey Plus An Unintentional Blur Photo
It was a bitter cold January morning in 2016 when I photographed this Cooper's Hawk on prey that I found not far from where I live.
Long-billed Curlew Foraging on Antelope Island
Four days ago I was able to take my first photographs of Long-billed Curlews this year on Antelope Island State Park and although I was disappointed in the quality of most of the images I took I enjoyed seeing these large sandpipers again.
Antelope Island Pronghorn Buck Sniffing The Wind
I always enjoy taking photos of the pronghorns on Antelope Island State Park and appreciate the fact that they are approachable and far less skittish than the pronghorn I have encountered in quite a few other locations.
Horned Lark Stretching His Left Wing
I like this photo for the eye contact, the fine details in the plumage of the bird, the stretched wing, light and how his one foot is raised, plus I think Horned Larks are beautiful songbirds.
Photos Of Owls In Flight
I spend a lot of time in the field looking for, observing and photographing owls and obtaining photos of them in flight can often be frustrating when I have the opportunity but very fulfilling when I accomplish my goal.
I Would Love To Photograph THIS Red-tailed Hawk In Good Light Just Once
This particular Red-tailed Hawk has such a striking appearance and not one of the photos I have taken of it thus far show just how freaking gorgeous it actually is.
Signs of Spring: Yellow-bellied Marmots
I get excited to see and photograph my first Yellow-bellied Marmots of the years, sunning on rocks, scurrying along a hillside, nibbling on fresh spring grasses or calling out an alarm because a raptor is flying overhead.
Wild Turkey Tom Strutting and Displaying Plus Memories Turkeys Arouse In Me
Breeding season has begun for Wild Turkeys so when I spotted a flock of them yesterday in the Stansbury Mountains in Tooele County I was hoping to photograph a tom turkey strutting.
Spring Dark-eyed Junco Small In The Frame
I was only able to photograph one of the Dark-eyed Juncos I saw yesterday because it was the only one that stayed still long enough for me to raise my lens, focus and fire my shutter button, the rest were way too skittish.
Springtime Yellow-headed Blackbird Male
Yellow-head Blackbirds made their presence known at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago by displaying and because of their odd mechanical calls that sound like a rusty metal gate opening and closing.
Nest Building Marsh Wren Plus A Surprise Ferruginous Hawk And FOY Swainson’s Hawk
It was a wonderful morning spotting both the Ferruginous and Swainson's Hawks, seeing quite a few other first of season birds and spending time photographing the Marsh Wren while he was busy constructing his nest.
Head On Western Grebe Adult
My friends Amy and Bruce Barker saw a Western Grebe at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge a few days ago and that has gotten me excited, I always miss the grebes during the winter.
Tundra Swans Of Bear River MBR On The Wing
Seeing a few flocks of Tundra Swans in flight two days in northern Utah was a reminder that these big, white swans have already begun their migration to their breeding grounds on the tundra of northern Canada and Alaska.
Cruddy Light, Cloudy Skies Plus a Red-tailed Hawk
I would have been totally skunked yesterday if I hadn't spotted the top of this Red-tailed Hawk's head and some wing movement where it was buried in a sagebrush next to a hillside.
Red-tailed Hawk Perched on a Sagebrush Covered Hillside
It is the time of year when Red-tailed Hawks begin to nest, by now most of them here in northern Utah have already selected a mate so they find a nesting location and start to collect nesting materials as the days grow longer and warmer.
Long-billed Curlews – Shorebirds of the Great Basin
It was one year ago today that I saw and heard my first Long-billed Curlews of the year and this morning as I sit here knowing there are cloudy skies outside I am wondering if the curlews have returned to northern Utah today as well.
Calling Pied-billed Grebe – It Is Breeding Season For These Grebes
Two days ago I noticed one Pied-billed Grebe carrying vegetation in its bill which I presume it was gathering to build its floating nest at a small pond at Farmington Bay WMA and later on I heard the call of a Pied-billed Grebe, located the grebe and photographed it as it called.
Hovering Northern Harrier Plus My Lifer Harris’s Sparrow
In some shrubs next to Glover Pond I saw two sparrows and the one that quickly drew my eye was a lovely first winter Harris's Sparrow, jackpot, a lifer!
Killdeer Calling in Flight at Night
A few nights ago I opened the door to check out the cloud cover and weather conditions before going to bed and for the first time since I moved to Utah I heard a flock of calling Killdeer flying past in the pitch black night.
Before Dawn Breaks The Courtship Displays Begin On Greater Sage-Grouse Leks
Each year across the western states Greater Sage-Grouse begin to fly into leks on the sagebrush steppe during late winter and early spring to perform their fascinating courtship displays well before the first sign of dawn.