The light yesterday morning was a little bit funky because of high, thin clouds overhead but I took a few photos of the birds that I was able to get close to including one of the Eared Grebes.
Mourning Doves aren't flashy but I think they are handsome birds and that their calls are hauntingly beautiful.
Once I'm in Willow Flycatcher habitat the next thing I do is to listen for them. I often hear Willow Flycatchers before I see them because they can blend into their habitat well.
On April 2nd in a canyon in some mountains of the West Desert of Utah I heard a familiar call, the mewing call of a Gray Catbird while I was looking for birds to photograph.
Mornings have still been fairly chilly here in northern Utah and the Turkey Vultures that recently arrived on spring migration have been taking advantage of the rising sun by thermoregulating to help chase off the chill.
I have taken thousands of images of Yellow-bellied Marmots where the marmots have been closer but very few of them that include as much habitat as this photo does.
The adult Red-naped Sapsuckers often clung to the entrance to the nesting cavity for a few seconds before they went inside with the food they had gathered to give to their chicks.
My rare Mountain Plover sighting happened almost seven years ago on Antelope Island State Park when I spotted, identified and photographed of the plovers during spring migration.
For one and a half wonderful nesting seasons I was thrilled to photograph a pair of mated Williamson's Sapsuckers excavating a nest and tending to their young.
I photographed this adult male Horned Lark singing on a snow-topped fence post three days ago after a spring snow fell overnight in the West Desert.
Today I wanted to focus on Virginia Rails because I don't find them out in the open very often, they are such secretive marsh birds.
Someone at sometime had tossed a soda can into the junipers and the Wild Turkey hen walked right in front of it during the few seconds she was out in the open.
This Green Heron was photographed not long after I first started focusing on and photographing birds while I still lived in Florida.
These are the life stages of the Swainson's Hawks I see, observe and photograph here in Utah, Idaho and Montana.
I had my best opportunities to take close up photos of Killdeer that I have ever had and I took full advantage of each chance I had with them.
Two days ago I heard and saw my first of the season Long-billed Curlews while looking for birds to photograph in northern Utah and I could barely contain my excitement.
The female Red-tailed Hawk blended into the lichen covered cliff face so well that even with my sharp eyesight I didn't see her until the male landed next to her.
When White-faced Ibis are in breeding plumage it is easy to see how they got their common name, in nonbreeding plumage, not so much.
By using a vehicle as a mobile blind I was able to photograph the wrens as they sang, searched for nesting materials, defended their breeding territories and built their nests from a distance.
While I was up in Box Elder County, Utah four days ago I spotted my first of season Western Kingbirds chasing each other around in flight near a ranch.
This isn't the kind of Short-eared Owl image you'll see in a bird guide but when you are looking for these owls in the field sometimes a view like this is all you will get.
In the event that our governor does force us into a total lock down I have enough images that I haven't shared here on my blog that I could post everyday for a year and still not run out of photos.
It's a simple European Starling image in what are complicated times and for me just looking at it is a respite from the news of the day.
When the Willets first arrive I often hear them before I see them, they can be quite the chatterboxes early in the spring. Later in the season they aren't quite as vocal.
Three days ago I saw and photographed my first of the year Yellow-bellied Marmot in East Canyon of the Wasatch Mountains.
I took eighty-four images of the Bald Eagle pair mating on the frozen reservoir and the entire time the magpie stood on the ice close to them.
The memories of photographing this Turkey Vulture that spring morning have made me feel excited because these vultures are heading north now and soon I will have them in my viewfinder again.
Perhaps the next weather front coming from the south will push these Barn Swallows into northern Utah, I know I will be watching for their arrival.
Yesterday I was able to photograph a Wild Turkey hen in sage. Not culinary sage but the wild sage we have here in northern Utah.
What I like about this photo was the reflection of the Western Meadowlark, the still water, the one raised foot and the curvy edges of the puddle. I feel drawn into the frame.