Coyote Searching For Prey In The Wasatch Mountains
If I hadn't been looking for birds I wouldn't have spotted this coyote searching for prey yesterday near a creek in a canyon which made it my best subject of the day.
If I hadn't been looking for birds I wouldn't have spotted this coyote searching for prey yesterday near a creek in a canyon which made it my best subject of the day.
I spent 26 minutes yesterday photographing juvenile Red-tailed Hawk siblings and had a blast watching them preen, lift off, flying, scratching, resting and landing.
When I noticed the Downy Woodpecker moving towards the front part of the tree I changed my focus to it and waited to see if he would come out into the open and when it did I was ready to takes images of him.
I was excited to have been able to take a decent image of an American Mink when I found this one in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning.
In mid August I was attempting to get close up photos of a Rock Squirrel that was actively feeding on serviceberries in the Wasatch Mountains and two things happened that ruined my chances for better images.
My luck with American Goshawks has been horrible and because of that they have earned the distinction of being a nemesis for me.
I was in the high Uinta Mountains near Washington Lake when I spotted this young Dark-eyed Junco and I was able to take a few images of it before it flew away.
As a bird photographer I'm feeling a sense of urgency now that I didn't feel a few weeks ago because as I watch the migrants in the Wasatch Mountains getting ready for their long journeys I know that my time for photographing them this year is quickly running out.
Our current climate crisis could mean Utah might lose our Mountain Bluebirds and it is not just us, it is Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming that will also be affected if action isn't taken now.
I researched Utah's grasshoppers and found out that this is a Two-striped Grasshopper (Melanoplus bivittatus) and even though I may have seen this species of grasshopper before it is a photographic lifer for me.
I was delighted to photograph the few immature Black-billed Magpies that were close to me and to observe those who were further away foraging and chasing each other around in a field dotted with wildflowers, grasses and sage.
I missed out on photographing Showy Milkweed in bloom in the lower elevations of northern Utah but not at the higher elevations of the Wasatch Mountains.
I was glad to have so many immature Song Sparrows in my viewfinder that were out in the open on the ground and perched up higher.
I was able to get back out into the field yesterday and I had a marvelous time photographing young Spotted Sandpiper chicks and learning more about their behaviors near a creek in the Wasatch Mountains.
This was the first immature Green-tailed Towhee I have seen this breeding season and I am hoping that it won't be the last one I photograph this year.
I was excited and enchanted by seeing and photographing at least two Spotted Sandpiper chicks yesterday morning near a creek up in the Wasatch Mountains.
Last year I was able to take hundreds of photos of this male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage while he fed on the seeds of a Musk Thistle.
As I photographed a pair of Uinta Ground Squirrels in a sagebrush high up in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday I realized that before long these squirrels will be gone from my view.
This Black-capped Chickadee's plumage isn't in prime condition but I feel like my work as a bird photographer includes taking images of them looking great and not so great because it is all part of the cycle of their lives.
I was extremely pleased to find and photograph my first Gray Catbird juvenile of this breeding season yesterday morning high in the Wasatch Mountains as it came into view on a hawthorn tree.
Back in early June I had the opportunity to photograph a male Belted Kingfisher up close high in the Wasatch Mountains but due to circumstances beyond my control I missed those shots.
I've been looking for Orange-crowned Warblers in the Wasatch Mountains to get better images of them this year and so far my best chance has been with this messy looking one I saw and photographed yesterday.
Just a few days ago I was listening to Song Sparrows singing on the East Coast and yesterday I was listening to them singing in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah.
It seems that I have spent a lot of time photographing Willow Flycatchers this year and I am happy that I have because I enjoying taking photos of these flycatchers.
Yellow Warblers are small birds that look like feathered rays of sunshine that have come to earth and I am always delighted to photograph them
Uinta Ground Squirrels spend most of their lives underground and because they do they need to make the most of their time above ground matter and they certainly do.
What I didn't know at the time that I photographed the flowering Dame's Rocket was that it is a prohibited plant in Utah.
Just seconds after I took this photo I think the Song Sparrow decided it had had enough of the wind because it took off and left the bouncy serviceberry perch.
I only had this Spotted Sandpiper in my view for about 24 seconds and I'd say more than half of that was spent flying around so I am glad that I was able to take this photo at all.
Last week I saw several clumps of blooming Mountain Bluebells that were dripping with dew drops from rains that fell overnight and I felt that I had to stop and take photos of them. I know they don't bloom for long.