Mule Deer Doe with a Western Spotted Orbweaver & Webs on Her Face
I can't resist photographing birds or wildlife up close so I swung my lens around and focused on the face of the Mule Deer and laughed out loud because she was covered in spiderwebs.
I can't resist photographing birds or wildlife up close so I swung my lens around and focused on the face of the Mule Deer and laughed out loud because she was covered in spiderwebs.
I enjoyed photographing the Eight-spotted Skimmer and Variegated Meadowhawk while also taking photos of Red-tailed Hawk juvenile.
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.
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.
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.
I have been very successful spotting Yellow-bellied Marmots and their pups the past few weeks in northern Utah and it has been a delight for me to photograph and observe them.
Yesterday I was able to photograph a Yellow-bellied Marmot with pups, these are photos I have wanted to take for years but until now haven't been able to create.
I had a great time photographing a roadside Yellow-bellied Marmot yesterday in northern Utah and the marmot was very cooperative. So cooperative that I took way, way too many images of it.
My best find of the day was my first of the year Swainson's Hawk about two thirds of the way down the island perched in some trees near a freshwater spring.
In this American Bison's tears I saw my own tears and deep concerns for what is happening to our environment now and the potential threats that future generations will have to face if we don't take action today.
The warm temps and wet weather have produced lush, green spring grasses and forbs and the Mule Deer are now able to find fresh food without snow cover
I got lucky and the first Mule Deer that leaped over the fence filled my viewfinder and I didn't clip anything.
I have complained about the midges in this post because they are messy and annoying but one thing that I feel is critical to mention is that these midges are an important food source for the birds that live and breed at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
While up in Mercur Canyon I caught a flash of browns and grays on top of a rock and realized I was seeing the Rock Squirrel I photographed on the same slope last month.
I am very fond of Yellow-bellied Marmots so when I spotted one clambering down some rocks into a crevice close to the road I became excited and as soon as I could I started taking photos of it.
I was excited and delighted to spot and photograph a coyote running on the ice of the Great Salt Lake a few days ago in the golden light just after dawn.
These portraits of bison bulls drinking from an iced over puddle were taken with my Nikon D500, my 500mm VR lens with a teleconverter attached from inside a vehicle.
I didn't have much luck at all with birds yesterday in the west desert canyons but I did spot and photograph a Rock Squirrel in Mercur Canyon.
I'm dreaming of seeing Greater Sage-Grouse, Sandhill Cranes and White-tailed Prairie Dogs as spring warms up the sagebrush steppe.
I did not see many birds that dreary day but I did have fun photographing a Coyote hunting, catching and consuming a vole in low light conditions.
There are some that say the state can better care for those lands. I'd call them fools but we humans are all distant cousins so I'll tame that down a bit and call them misled instead. Intentionally and deliberately misled.
While photographing a Great Blue Heron at the first bridge I spotted a dark shape running, slipping and sliding on the snow-covered ice and could see that it was a Raccoon.
Each of us are the authors of how 2017 will be written in those history books as surely as we are the pathfinders in the journeys of our own lives.
Wow, today is the last day of the year 2016. This is my photographic year in review from Utah, Idaho and Montana!
I was able to photograph a Long-tailed Weasel in its white winter coat two years ago at Farmington Bay WMA and although I liked the images they really weren't what I truly desire.
Today I am celebrating having published 2000 posts on birds, wildlife and nature at On The Wing Photography and sharing the stories behind the images along with the journeys I take to find my subjects.
I am so glad the American Bison were saved from extinction and that I see the Antelope Island State Park herd as often as I do.
Last fall I photographed this beautiful Mule Deer buck at Bear River MBR in rut as he followed a doe around the frost-covered marsh.
When I photographed this bison bull grazing on a crisp January morning I recall how cold my hands and cheeks were and that I could hear the crunching sounds the bull made as he ate.
Yesterday I found a trio of young Raccoons at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and was able to take a series of images of them from inside my Jeep as they cautiously checked me out.