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 noticed that the Golden Currants have started to ripen and this chipmunk was actively feeding on the fruits when I caught sight of it and twisted my body like a pretzel to take a few photos of it.
Even though I am primarily a bird photographer I can't resist photographing other subjects especially if those subjects have wings so when I saw a White-lined Sphinx moth yesterday I simply had to focus on it for a bit.
I'm confident in my North American bird ID abilities but when it comes to Fritillary butterfly species ID in the Wasatch Mountains I feel stymied a lot of the time.
Mark your calendars because there is a yearly Spider Festival on Antelope Island State Park and this year the festival is being held next Saturday on August 3, 2019.
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.
One of the dragonflies I photographed back East was a female Common Whitetail that was resting on a sidewalk, this dragonfly let me get close enough to take nice images even with my cell phone.
I don't get to see Least Chipmunks year round here in northern Utah so I try to photograph them each time see them because they are such charming subjects. This one sure charmed me.
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.
I've been seeing more and more Least Chipmunks while I have been up in the Wasatch Mountains looking for and photographing birds and I always try to stop for them because they are so cute.
When a bird photography trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge starts with me spotting not just one but two Snowy Plovers out on the flats I just know the day is off to a great start and that is what happened yesterday morning.
I've been seeing baby Uinta Ground Squirrels and two days ago I was finally able to photograph some of the cute little balls of fur near their burrow.
We didn't stay long at the Yellow-bellied Marmot burrow because I wanted to take my mom to the Spiral Jetty and we still had a long, dusty way to go but we enjoyed the time we had with the pups.
While I photographed male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds a few days ago in the West Desert I also took a few moments to photograph some of the butterflies nectaring on the blooms of the Wax Currant bush which included Red Admiral butterflies.
Okay, so you may be wondering who Luke is? Luke is my youngest grandchild, he is 11, he is in 5th grade and he lives in North Carolina.
This Mourning Cloak butterfly I photographed five days ago not far from where I photographed the Painted Lady was also nectaring on Fragrant Sumac and it too looked a bit worn because they are a migratory butterfly species as well.
Two days ago while up in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains I was able to finally realize a personal goal while photographing Uinta Ground Squirrels.
I didn't get any photos of the Uinta Ground Squirrels while I was up in the canyons last week and I will need to fix that soon because I adore these furry, dark-eyed ground squirrels.
I don't see and photograph foxes as often as I would like to so this Red Fox was a surprise to me because I'd never seen one at this location before.
The Yellow-bellied Marmot pup spent most of its time exploring the area around its burrow, climbing up and down the rocks, sitting, standing, scratching its fur, looking around and being a marmot pup in the wild where they belong.
Yellow-bellied Marmots are also called "Whistle Pigs" and "Rock Chucks" so I have to wonder should I call their pups "Whistle Piglets" and "Rock Chucklets" or just call them cute and adorable?
I photographed this White-tailed Antelope Squirrel in 2016 near Torrey in Wayne County, Utah, the squirrel was resting on a boulder a couple hundred yards away from where I was camping.
I haven't seen rabbits for quite some time on the island so when I spotted this Mountain Cottontail yesterday on a small snow-topped hill I knew I had to get photos of it.
I can remember the day I photographed this American Bison bull grazing with snow on the ground clearly in part because I was seeing the island with a friend who hadn't been there before which is akin to seeing the area with fresh eyes.
All in all, as 2018 comes to a close I realize how fortunate I am to see all the birds that I do throughout the year as a bird photographer, to be able to do what I love and to love my feathered subjects too.
At one of the burrows where I photographed Yellow-bellied Marmot pups in the spring there was one pup of the five that had a paler face than the other four had and I thought that was interesting.
So it wasn't a great morning but it wasn't all that bad either because I was able to focus on a Short-eared Owl, Brewer's Blackbirds and one curious Long-tailed Weasel.
I have often written that bird photography isn't easy and that it can be frustrating, wildlife photography can be much the same and my two recent sightings of Moose in the Wasatch Mountains can prove my point easily.
I photographed some of the cutest, fuzzy Bee Flies in the world this week nectaring on Rabbitbrush and Curlycup Gumweed in the Stansbury Mountains of the West Desert.
I saw plenty of Western Branded Skipper butterflies nectaring on blooming rabbitbrush in both the canyons I explored yesterday morning and I can't resist, nor do I want to, photographing wildflowers and butterflies.