birds of prey

Mated Red-tailed Hawk Pair

By |March 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week I spotted and photographed a mated Red-tailed Hawk pair on the branches of a tree in front of a cliff in early morning light.

It Is Red-tailed Hawk Nesting Season

By |March 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Red-tailed Hawk nesting season has started in northern Utah and I found a few pairs yesterday morning that have already gotten busy with nest building.

Signs Of Spring – First Turkey Vulture Sighting Report

By |March 12th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday afternoon I received an email from the UBird Google group with a first of the year Turkey Vulture sighting and that got me excited. 

West Desert Male Rough-legged Hawk

By |March 3rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning  was clear, bright, chilly, and I spent ten minutes photographing an adult male Rough-legged Hawk that I found in the West Desert.

Male Rough-legged Hawk Photos

By |February 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Earlier this week I photographed a light morph, adult male Rough-legged Hawk in the West Desert of Utah with three different backgrounds.

Ferruginous And Rough-legged Hawk Lift Off Photos

By |February 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning I was able to take Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawk lift off photos where both of the raptors still had their feet on their perches.

High Key Immature Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By |February 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today I am sharing two high key type images of an immature Red-tailed Hawk I photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.

Immature Male Northern Harrier Flying Over A Wintry Marsh

By |February 14th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This immature male Northern Harrier photo shows the hawk small in the frame with wintry marsh habitat behind and below it.

Golden Eagle Flying Over A Hill On Antelope Island

By |February 9th, 2021|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has been a couple of years since I have found a Golden Eagle on Antelope Island so when I spotted an adult on a grassy hill yesterday I was excited.

It’s Superb Owl Sunday!

By |February 7th, 2021|Categories: American Barn Owls, Birds, Great Horned Owls, Short-eared Owls|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is Superb Owl Sunday so I wanted to share four of the owls that I see most frequently. Barn, Burrowing, Great Horned and Short-eared Owls are the owls that I photograph most often here in northern Utah.

Rufous Red-tailed Hawk Female Memories

By |January 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I wanted to share a few photos of a stunning rufous Red-tailed Hawk female that I photographed over a period of a couple of years.

Urban Raptor Photography

By |January 17th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I first moved to Utah in 2009 I never expected to be able to do urban raptor photography from my living room window.

Photographing Winter Birds

By |January 15th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Bald Eagles, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Canvasbacks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.

Five Bird Photos From Christmas Day 2020

By |December 26th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Much to my delight I was able to photograph some birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.

Hunting Barn Owl In Flight Over The Frozen Marsh At Farmington Bay WMA

By |December 20th, 2020|Categories: American Barn Owls, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

During the winter there are times I am able to photograph Barn Owls in flight during the day when the snow is deep and the temps are bitter cold.

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.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk Harassed By A Northern Harrier

By |December 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it.

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.

Photographing An Immature Ferruginous Hawk Hunting For Breakfast

By |November 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning not long after sunrise I spent some time photographing a light morph, immature Ferruginous Hawk hunting for its breakfast.

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.

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.

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.

Go to Top