Where is Our Snow?
It is wintertime here in the Salt Lake Valley of northern Utah but given the lack of snow if it weren't for the cold temps you might not know that.
It is wintertime here in the Salt Lake Valley of northern Utah but given the lack of snow if it weren't for the cold temps you might not know that.
The first bird I saw in 2021 was a European Starling perched on a power line on the road to my local grocery store about 8:15 am yesterday morning.
It is a chilly 29°F where I live in northern Utah on New Year's Day 2021 and from my living room window I can see that it is foggy outside.
What we can see are greenish, lobed feet and a dark, rounded body. With just those two identification features can you guess which bird these feet belong to?
Today I wanted to share some of the Christmas Day bird photos I have taken through the years out in the field and close to home.
If you can't be with friends, family or loved ones this year because of the pandemic I hope that you will be able to talk to them and wish them Happy Holidays on the phone or via video chat.
I love to photograph birds on the wing. It doesn't matter if my subject is as small as a hummingbird, as large as an eagle, as slow as a gliding pelican, or as fast as a stooping falcon as long as it is a bird.
I love photographing gulls. Whether they are feeding, resting, preening, fighting, calling, or in flight gulls are one of my favorite bird species to have in my viewfinder.
When I got back home and uploaded the images I took of the drake Common Goldeneye I could see that his bill had pigment issues and that it wasn't a white feather stuck on his bill.
Some winters here in the Salt Lake Valley I see quite a lot Common Mergansers while in other years I only see a few. I'm hoping that this winter I will see plenty of these beautiful, sleek diving ducks.
There are days I spend as much time looking at the scenery as I do photographing birds because I think we live on an amazingly beautiful planet.
I'm anxious to start photographing the ducks I see close to home during the winter here in the Salt Lake Valley and from what I understand a few Common Goldeneyes have shown up.
You might wonder why I decided to use an American Robin photo on my Thanksgiving post today and I will explain how I picked this image.
Among the duck species I look for during the winter are American Wigeons which are medium sized dabbling ducks.
Lately I've been seeing and hearing more and more Canada Geese close to home and that has made me start thinking about winter, snowstorms, whiteouts and high key images of birds.
When the weather turns colder, the clouds gather, and the snow falls I still have plenty of birds to photograph here in northern Utah.
This adult American Coot may look like it is screaming but in reality it is simply calling out because another bird got close to it next to the shoreline of a small pond.
It does not matter where I am or what I am doing, I am never not looking for birds.
Yesterday afternoon I spent thirty-one minutes photographing migrating Yellow-rumped Warblers close to home and those warblers kept me on my toes.
I took this photo of a Ring-billed Gull walking through the snow in whiteout conditions on December 30, 2019 at a pond not far from where I live.
While looking through my photos from two years ago today I came across images of this Ring-billed Gull coming in for a landing and thought the gull looked perfect against the blue of the water.
Every winter since I moved to northern Utah in 2009 I have found a few Double-crested Cormorants overwintering at my local ponds but this winter has been very different.
When this European Starling perched in a Crabapple tree close to me during the snowstorm I was able to get a few photos of it before my hands started to hurt from the cold.
Yesterday I was able to focus on this American Robin as it foraged in the branches of a crabapple tree and took a nice, long series of images of the handsome red-breasted thrush.
When I notice an American Coot exhibiting patrolling behavior I will often aim my lens at them because there could possibly be a chase or fight within seconds.
I found it interesting to see a first winter drake Common Goldeneye swimming with a first winter Common Merganser and decided to photograph them.
I've grown to love and appreciate the mountain views I have here in Utah. When I can take photographs that combine my passion for birds with mountains in them I am one very happy woman.
The Pied-billed Grebe dunked its head then slapped its wings against the water vigorously which caused the icy water to fly in all directions.
I thought I was going to go home without any frame filling bird photos until this European Starling flew in and landed next to the water.
Yesterday I watched and photographed the Redhead drakes exhibiting Kinked-neck and Head-throw displays but once again they were too far away to get the high quality images I am seeking.