Juvenile Eastern and Western Kingbirds – Their Ranges Overlap Here in Utah
The ranges for these two species of kingbirds overlap here in northern Utah but I see more of the Western Kingbirds than I do the Eastern Kingbirds.
The ranges for these two species of kingbirds overlap here in northern Utah but I see more of the Western Kingbirds than I do the Eastern Kingbirds.
Each Prickly Poppy flower is about 3 to 5 inches across with yellow centers of clustered stamens and delicate petals that look like white crepe paper.
The young Mountain Bluebird turned and snatched the cricket from the male quickly before any of its siblings could reach the branches.
As I watched the Gray Flycatcher it flew towards me, snatched a damselfly from mid air then landed on a dead branch not too far away and proceeded to eat it while I photographed the bird.
Both times I photographed this male Burrowing Owl yesterday morning he looked very sleepy, he may be worn out from helping to raise a passel of chicks.
A few days ago I saw an adult Red-tailed Hawk fly towards its nest with prey for its chicks, the prey was a duckling.
Yesterday I saw all three of the young Red-tailed Hawk chicks together perched on a fallen tree not far from where their natal nest had been before the wind knocked it down.
My best photos of the day were of a buck Pronghorn that was very close to the dirt road I was on, he was so close I had trouble keeping all of his head in the frame.
One year ago today I became part of an amazing group of people who rescued, rehabbed and trained Galileo the Short-eared Owl after finding him hung up on a barbed wire fence
Maybe next year I'll have better opportunities with these Red-naped Sapsuckers and maybe they will chose to place their new nesting cavity in a location that is easier to photograph.
While this final image shows a beautiful Short-eared Owl, nice sharpness and details when I compare it to the first photo it just isn't as visually appealing to me as the first photo which was taken in softer light.
Yesterday while up in the Wasatch Mountains I was delighted to be able to photograph two Least Chipmunks I found in East Canyon of Morgan County, Utah.
I saw the Red-tailed Hawk chicks near where the nest had been though and I spent less than two minutes with them and took a few images before leaving them alone.
Female Red-winged Blackbirds seem to be the birds that are most often misidentified probably because they look so different from the males. Red-winged Blackbirds are sexually dimorphic .
I was looking through my archives from last year and came across some images I had taken last June in Morgan County, Utah that I hadn't processed yet and I came across these Cedar Waxwing photos.
When this Barn Swallow started to stretch its wings I was ready for the action and took several photos of it while it stretched on top of the fence post.
One of my favorite wildflowers is Lewis's Flax, I love how the blossoms move in a breeze because it seems like they are dancing and their blue color is appealing to my eyes.
I photographed this male Belted Kingfisher last month as it perched on a thin branch at a small pond close to the Jordan River in Salt Lake County, Utah.
Someday I will get the images I desire of these dainty Yellow Warblers. Bird photography is challenging and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I was ready when this Green-tailed Towhee perched on a lichen topped fence post yesterday long enough for me to fire off 30 frames before he flew down to the ground.
There were three Uinta Ground Squirrels in the riparian zone along East Canyon Creek and I felt that I had to take photos of them in the bright, clear light, they were so cute.
Last week while I was photographing a handsome Green-tailed Towhee in the Wasatch Mountains a bright Yellow Warbler caught my eyes when it landed on a flowering shrub.
I photographed my first of the year Common Nighthawk yesterday in northern Utah after I found and pointed it out resting on a red gate about mid-morning.
Yesterday I was able to photograph the largest buteo in North America, a gorgeous Ferruginous Hawk that was on top of a hill with the Stansbury Mountains of the West Desert in the background.
Gray Catbirds are related to mockingbirds and thrashers and are in the family Mimidae and all of them are noted for their vocalizations and their ability to mimic a wide variety of bird songs and calls and human made sounds.
One good bird can make the the day when photographing birds in the field, yesterday that bird was a male Green-tailed Towhee I spotted perched on a shrub in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains.
A little more than a week ago I spotted this Forster's Tern resting on a log in the water at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge from the auto tour loop and I felt I had to hop out and take a few images from across the hood of my Jeep
Even though it is late May there are still male Red-winged Blackbirds displaying and singing their little hearts out here in northern Utah and that is what this male blackbird was doing.
I was surprised yesterday to be able to take portraits of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds because they normally fly away from me instead of flying towards me.
When I arrived at the parking area where the auto tour loop begins at the refuge I spotted a fluffed up curbside Barn Swallow warming up in the sunlight and couldn't resist photographing it.