Great Blue Heron On Ice
After miles and miles and miles of travel yesterday my best images were of an adult Great Blue Heron on ice with frost flowers in the frame.
Portraits Of A Great Blue Heron With Nesting Material
It felt amazing to have that Great Blue Heron gift us with its presence for those few seconds. You just never know what might happen when you are out looking for birds.
Wintertime Drake Gadwall Close Up
I'm glad this Gadwall drake came in close so I could take a few photos of him before I turned my attention back to the pair of Hooded Mergansers.
Adult Song Sparrow Foraging In The Snow At Farmington Bay WMA
I was happy when the "sit and wait" approach allowed me to see this adult Song Sparrow pop up on top of a snow covered pile of vegetation where it proceeded to forage in front of me at a nice distance.
Reddish Egret In A Lagoon With Clouds Reflecting On The Water
It has been nearly ten years since I took this photo and it remains one of my favorite Reddish Egret photos because of the clouds reflecting on the still waters of a lagoon at Fort De Soto County Park.
Diving Common Goldeneye Drake Photos
Primarily I focused on a drake Common Goldeneye that was busy foraging for food and that kept diving under the surface of the water close enough to take frame filling images of him.
Ruddy Duck Drake In Nonbreeding Plumage
Even though this drake Ruddy Duck is small in the frame I liked this image because of the silky blue water, the small wake behind the duck, the direct eye contact and how some of the blue of this drake's bill is visible.
Drake American Wigeon Close Ups in Afternoon Light
American Wigeons are here in this area of northern Utah year round but I seem to have my best opportunities with them during the winter. I'm delighted that this drake came in so close.
Hen and Drake Hooded Mergansers With and Without Prey
The birds I photographed the most yesterday were a pair of Hooded Mergansers that were actively foraging for prey most of the time I had them in my viewfinder.
Adult And Immature Tundra Swans At Bear River MBR
I am itching to get back out into the field and one of the places I am most excited to get back to is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Box Elder County, Utah because of the Tundra Swans that I know are there.
Spotted Sandpiper On The Gulf Coast – Thinking Back On Warmer Days
This morning I'm thinking back on warmer days where I took photos of Spotted Sandpipers on the Gulf Coast as they scurried among those oyster beds looking for food and somehow I feel just a little bit warmer looking at this photo and the howling wind doesn't seem quite so loud.
Photographing A Common Goldeneye Drake While Breaking Some Rules
By sharing these photos today my intention is to show that there are times when photographic rules can be broken because the appeal of images or the lack of appeal is all about the individual tastes of the photographer taking the photos and those of the people that view them.
American Bison Bull Grazing With Snow On The Ground
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.
California Gull On Ice In Salt Lake County
While photographing a California Gull on ice two days ago I was reminded of how well these gulls survive the bitter cold we have here at times during the winter even when the ponds, lakes and rivers freeze over.
Back Side Views Of A Bathing Pied-billed Grebe
There were some images of the bathing Pied-billed Grebe I did like because they showed a view of the grebe I don't share all that often, the back side of the grebe. They have cute little bottoms, so why not?
New Year’s Day Neotropic Cormorant Sighting
What caught my eyes was that one of the cormorants was smaller, sleeker and darker than the other two birds and before I even scoped it through my lens I knew that I had found an out of season Neotropic Cormorant.
Focusing On A Feeding American Coot
At home when I could see the photos I had taken on a much larger screen I nearly choked on my laughter when I saw this image of the coot vigorously shaking its food
Hen Common Goldeneyes In Flight And This Site Is On The Wing Too
Snow and clouds are in the forecast for today and I have decided that today is the day for me to migrate On The Wing Photography over to the new server that I mentioned a while back.
Christmas Goose
I'm happy that I was able to photograph birds on Christmas Eve in decent light and that somehow to me this is more than "just" a goose, it is a Christmas Goose and who am I to look a gift goose in the bill?
Great-tailed Grackle Close Up In Late Afternoon Light
I'm glad I had a few seconds to photograph this Great-tailed Grackle up close in the warm afternoon light before it was flushed and flew away.
Focusing On A Rousing Short-eared Owl Adult Male
This adult male Short-eared Owl was perched on a weathered fence post not far from the road when I photographed it rousing and I loved the way it seemed to be looking right as me as it shook its feathers.
Male California Quail Close Up – Seeing And Appreciating The Fine Feather Details
Four days ago I was able to take close up photos of a handsome male California Quail in beautiful light while he perched on a fence rail as he looked directly towards me.
Puffed Up Song Sparrow On Natural And Man Made Perches
These two Song Sparrow photos are a reminder to me that sometimes having man made objects in my photos isn't such a bad thing, it is just a matter of personal tastes.
Roosting Male California Quail Yawning
One male California Quail turned his head and through my viewfinder I could see him yawning and this was the only photo I got of him where I could see his entire face and eyes at a good angle.
Yellow Warbler Looking Up Into The Sky – Missing Our Summer Birds
I'm just posting this sweet, little Yellow Warbler this morning because I have been missing our summer birds. I have been missing all birds actually because it seems like forever since I have been out into the field.
Back View Of A Drake Common Merganser In Salt Lake County
I took this photo two winters ago on the local pond and I liked it because even though the view of the drake Common Merganser was taken of its back the merganser turned his head and gave me a great view of his eye.
Adult White-crowned Sparrow Perched In A Red Branched Bush
One year ago today I photographed this adult White-crowned Sparrow perched in a red branched bush at the gate to Farmington Bay WMA.
American Coots & Canada Geese In A Winter Snow Storm
Neither of these images will knock anyone's socks off but for me they show these coots and geese in the snow storm and the harsh conditions they live in, just birds being birds.
Adult Tundra Swan – White On White
Some of the Tundra Swan photos I took that day in near white out conditions were flat and unappealing to my eyes but some of them I really liked because of the white bird on white snow.
Adult White-crowned Sparrow on a fence with Rabbitbrush in the background
I was thinking back on brighter days this morning and decided to share this photo of an adult White-crowned Sparrow perched on a fence with the bright yellow blooms of rabbitbrush in the background.