World Wetlands Day And Utah’s Abysmal Protections Of Them
Today is World Wetlands Day, and we need to protect and preserve our wetlands. Wetlands provide a wide range of ecological, economic, and social benefits.
Today is World Wetlands Day, and we need to protect and preserve our wetlands. Wetlands provide a wide range of ecological, economic, and social benefits.
Yesterday I photographed a light morph adult male Rough-legged Hawk perched in a tree in the Wasatch Mountains.
For the second year in a row the first bird I photographed in the New Year was a Rough-legged Hawk and both were photographed at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Earlier this week I photographed a light morph, adult male Rough-legged Hawk in the West Desert of Utah with three different backgrounds.
One year ago this morning spotting and photographing this adult Golden Eagle at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was the highlight of an otherwise crappy day.
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.
There are times when I feel as if I am riding out a storm due to circumstances or events that are out of my control I remind myself that all storms come to an end.
The comparisons I have made between juvenile, immature and adult Sage Thrashers are basic, there are more ways to determine their age but I wanted to keep the comparisons simple.
No matter how these Golden Eagle photos came to be I am happy to have photographed this magnificent bird on the wing.
It has been a long time since I had a dark morph Ferruginous Hawk in my view finder so when I spotted it hovering over a field I knew I had to stop and get photos of it.
A soft blue sky, a juniper and a Rock Squirrel made me pretty happy two days ago because I don't have these squirrels in my viewfinder nearly as often as I'd like to.
I photographed this adult White-crowned Sparrow about two weeks ago in northern Utah while it perched on a hackberry tree on a hill with blooming rabbitbrush in the background.
I photographed this young male Red-winged Blackbird singing at the top of a Russian olive tree at Farmington Bay WMA nine days ago.
Last Friday as I looked for birds in a few West Desert canyons I was serenaded by the songs and calls of Townsend's Solitaires and while I loved hearing them it was frustrating because they were either too far away or hidden from my view.
Until three days ago I really haven't taken any decent images of Lesser Goldfinches that weren't at bird feeders but that changed when this one landed on a greasewood in front of me at Farmington Bay WMA.
Not only was this Ring-billed Gull in molt it was molting in a remarkably symmetrical pattern which I found interesting. Because the gull was in flight the symmetry was very visible.
I like to share some of the views I see while I am out wandering to look for birds because the scenery and different habitats I see at times are simply spectacular.
The Willow Flycatcher perched out in the open high on a shrub with a clear blue sky in the background and I didn't even mind the foliage and branches behind and above the bird.
Because of a two part call, FITZ-bew, I had no trouble identifying a flycatcher that I saw, photographed and heard yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains as a Willow Flycatcher.
If I hadn't already been stopped to photograph the blackbird I wouldn't have seen this immature Bald Eagle flying towards me in time to take the photos that I took of it on the wing.
When I spotted this immature Black-crowned Night Heron on the wing at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in April I hoped it would fly in closer than it did, still I liked the photos I took of it with a clear blue sky in the background.
Last week I was able to photograph several Swainson's Hawks, some perched and others while in flight and of the flight photos I liked this photo the most because of the mountains in the background.
It is the time of year when Red-tailed Hawks begin to nest, by now most of them here in northern Utah have already selected a mate so they find a nesting location and start to collect nesting materials as the days grow longer and warmer.
Last week while photographing birds in Ophir Canyon I was able to take a short series of photos of a Mountain Chickadee perched in a juniper right after I photographed some bushtits.
This Fish Crow in flight over Egmont Key In Florida image isn't the best, I see many flaws in it, but on my old photo gallery this photo had by far the most views in the entire gallery.
Just a simple post today of a simple bird, a dorsal view of a Ring-billed Gull in flight over a water feature at Farmington Bay WMA.
I photographed this adult Red-tailed Hawk earlier this year in northern Utah as it perched on a lichen-covered rock surveying its world and thought I would share it today.
I don't often have the opportunity of taking photos of ducks that are flying straight at me while coming in for a landing which is exactly what this drake mallard did.
Looking back over the last 20 years of my life I can see many times where I threw off the bowlines and sailed away from safe harbor.
I did spot a juvenile Northern Harrier in the fog resting on a clump of vegetation in the snow covered field on the east side of the road and took a few images of it.