Antelope Island Chukars – From Chicks to Adults
Antelope Island Chukars don't just attract out of town visitors to the island, they still call in locals like myself to see, hear and photograph them.
Antelope Island Chukars don't just attract out of town visitors to the island, they still call in locals like myself to see, hear and photograph them.
I was able to take images of a Box Elder County Yellow-bellied Marmot further south next to the road near the foothills of the Promontory Mountains.
This adult Western Kingbird close up was photographed two years ago on Antelope Island State Park as it perched on a sign post close to a nest site.
More of the swallows will migrate to the refuge very soon and the Cliff Swallow nesting season will start.
These images from different times of the year show Mountain Bluebird plumage development stages from not long after fledging to adulthood.
I eagerly anticipate the birds that arrive with spring including an early spring Western Grebe who will soon be courting and rushing at the refuge.
After they burn the phragmites it doesn't take long for life to go back to normal for some of the birds like this Killdeer in a burned area.
Both of these Chukars above the Great Salt Lake were photographed on the east side of Antelope Island State Park this month.
The highlight of my morning yesterday was photographing two Yellow-bellied Marmots at Capitol Reef National Park.
I was able to photograph this Peregrine Falcon in flight in front of a brightly colored sandstone cliff face with the light of the setting sun on it. I was delighted.
Yesterday I found this Western Meadowlark take off photo that I took last year on Antelope Island State Park.
Last year I had the pleasure of photographing this nonbreeding Sora in the Centennial Valley of Montana.
Last year in mid August I photographed a very cooperative juvenile Barn Swallow at Bear River MBR and realized I hadn't posted any images of the bird or written about my encounter with it.
Turkey Vultures are Nature's clean up crew. They consume road kill and other dead animals and and in doing so they clean up the messy stuff.
I was photographing a pair of cranes foraging on the ground when a pair of Sandhill Cranes calling in flight flew over and I took a series of images of them.
I didn't get to see Greater Sage Grouse on my recent trip to southern Utah but I did get a few brief looks at another sagebrush obligate when a single Sage Thrasher popped up into view.
I was able to get a few images of a Golden Eagle yesterday morning as it perched on some huge, ancient boulders in early morning light.
It has been a while since I photographed this Short-eared Owl in Tooele County at the James W. Fitzgerald WMA
Both of these Loggerhead Shrikes were photographed on Antelope Island State Park, both of them are adults, both were photographed when the sky was clear and both were perched on a dead twig of a greasewood but they were also photographed with different backgrounds, different times of the morning and different light.
The males will start singing before too long and the Marsh Wren nesting season in Utah will begin.
Watching and photographing the Tundra Swans lifting off from Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday was slightly bittersweet for me because I know they will soon be heading north to mate.
Seeing these uncommon Western Bluebirds in Tooele County in the Stansbury Mountain Range yesterday is part of why I love bird photography so much.
Yesterday I had my first opportunity to photograph a nearby female Belted Kingfisher in Salt Lake County, Utah and I had fun getting to know her.
I had forgotten about photographing this Barn Swallow in a fog at the Lower Lake of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge until I was going through my archives yesterday.
Seeing and photographing this Red-breasted Nuthatch was such a thrill for me that I want a repeat performance!
I was able to take this male Brewer's Blackbird portrait as it perched next to the road that shows the iridescent colors in his plumage quite nicely.
I know I am looking forward to photographing and watching the Black-billed Magpie nest building ballet that occurs each spring.
I ended up capturing an image of a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow photobombing the adult just a few frames later.
I thought a comparison of adult and juvenile White-faced Ibis might be interesting for those of you who aren't familiar with this western species of ibis.
The Snowy Egrets of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge never fail to delight me with their bright white plumage, golden feet, bright yellow lores and feathery plumes.