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Drake Common Goldeneye With Pigment Issues On His Bill

By |December 13th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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.

Seeing All Birds – European Starling On A Frosty Perch

By |December 12th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, European Starlings, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I have a backlog of raptor images I took earlier this week but I wanted to share one of a species that some people hate or many bird photographers prefer to ignore, the European Starling.

Female American Kestrel With Her Prey

By |December 11th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Three days ago I had one minute with a beautiful adult female American Kestrel and her partially eaten prey at Farmington Bay WMA.

Photographing Bald Eagles At Farmington Bay WMA During An Inversion

By |December 10th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Think carefully before you make a trip to Utah to photograph our overwintering Bald Eagles in the valley. The inversions are awful and can be life threatening.

Focusing On A Gray Ghost – AKA Male Northern Harrier

By |December 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today I am focusing on an adult male Northern Harrier that I had in my viewfinder for a few seconds yesterday that was on the wing over the marsh.

Diving American Coot – Breaking My Own Rules

By |December 8th, 2020|Categories: American Coots, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Typically I have a personal rule about having eye contact with my subject and I also want a catch light but to get this coot photo I had to break my own bird photography rules.

Female American Kestrels On The Same Post Ten Years Apart

By |December 7th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was only going to share this image today but as I processed this photo I thought about all the times I have photographed American Kestrels on this same exact post over the years.

Females And First Winter Male Hooded Mergansers

By |December 6th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Hooded Mergansers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

All three of the Hooded Mergansers were close to me because there was a shelf of ice that prevented them from swimming out into the middle of the pond.

Finding Two Uncommon Birds In One Week – Rusty Blackbird And Common Grackle

By |December 5th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Common Grackles, Davis County, Rusty Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Finding two uncommon birds this week at the same olive tree really has me buzzed and to finally see a Rusty Blackbird has made me feel like jumping over the moon.

Frosty Female Northern Harrier In Flight

By |December 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I saw a few harriers on the wing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA and I was able to take a few photos of a female Northern Harrier that still had frost on her nape.

Landing Drake Common Goldeneye

By |November 29th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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.

Focusing On Adult Male Rough-legged Hawks

By |November 27th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Ten days ago I found and photographed this adult male Rough-legged Hawk as it perched on a Russian Olive tree at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was heading home.

Adult American Robin Gobbling Down A Crabapple – Thanksgiving 2020

By |November 26th, 2020|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Leucistic, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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.

Autumn American Bison Bull And The Great Salt Lake

By |November 24th, 2020|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I see American Bison at Antelope Island State Park I am always very aware of how close we came to losing them entirely and that fact makes me appreciate them even more.

Cozy Red-tailed Hawks And Finches Galore

By |November 23rd, 2020|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Box Elder County, Pine Siskins, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning the first birds I spotted and photographed was a pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks side by side on a rocky ledge in early morning light.

Time To Keep An Eye On The Sky For Bald Eagles

By |November 21st, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I could see a Bald Eagle being chased by a gull in the sky and my heart skipped a beat because I know it is time for me to keep an eye on the sky for Bald Eagles again.

You Know You Are A Gull Lover When…

By |November 17th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

You take photos of ten species of birds and the twelve photos of a Ring-billed Gull in flight are the images you are the most excited to view when you get home.

Looking Back On Photographing A Rare Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk

By |November 16th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Leucistic, Rarities, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Even though it is now four years later I still look for this striking leucistic Red-tailed Hawk in Tooele County and hope to find and photograph it again one day.

Adult Male Belted Kingfisher Close Up With Prey

By |November 15th, 2020|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was looking through images I had taken this summer and decided to share a close up of a male Belted Kingfisher with prey that I photographed in the Wasatch Mountains this summer.

Merlin And American Kestrels – Two Falcon Species In A Day

By |November 13th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Merlins, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Any time I can see and photograph two falcon species in a single day is a great day and yesterday I photographed a Prairie Merlin and several American Kestrels.

Winter Has Arrived Along With Many Opportunities To Photograph Birds

By |November 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Hooded Mergansers, Ring-billed Gulls, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When the weather turns colder, the clouds gather, and the snow falls I still have plenty of birds to photograph here in northern Utah.

The Winds Of Change Affect My Access To Some Mountain Canyons

By |November 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I always feel a sense of sadness when I can't get to those mountain canyons and the birds that live there all year long when they close those gates for the winter.

How An American Oystercatcher Ruined A New Pair Of Pants

By |November 6th, 2020|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Birds, Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today's post is about an American Oystercatcher image taken in 2009 at Egmont Key in Pinellas County, Florida and the story behind it.

Male Short-eared Owl Perched At The Edge Of A Sagebrush Sea

By |November 5th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I am always looking for Short-eared Owls in northern Utah because they are year round residents here but they are nomadic which means I don't always see them.

Adult Female Northern Harrier On The Wing Over Farmington Bay WMA

By |November 3rd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has been too long since I have had a Northern Harrier in my viewfinder although I'm now excited because I know that fall and winter are great seasons for me to find and photograph them.

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