My Growing Concerns Over This Years Crop Of Douglas Fir Seeds Because Of Our Drought
My trip out into the sky island mountains of the West Desert last week caused my concerns about this years crop of Douglas Fir seeds to grow.
My trip out into the sky island mountains of the West Desert last week caused my concerns about this years crop of Douglas Fir seeds to grow.
I noticed in my Facebook memories that four years ago this morning was when I found my first of season Merlin out on the mudflats at Farmington Bay WMA.
This has been a weird fall so far and because of that I haven't been out to look for urban birds like this Yellow-rumped Warbler I photographed last year close to home.
Drought stressed Douglas Fir trees will produce what is called a "stress crop" of cones which is what I believe is happening to the firs in this location.
Last month I had a brief photo session with a young Song Sparrow near a creek in bright morning light high in the Wasatch Mountains.
I like having my windows open so I can hear the sounds of birds when I can't be in the field. It helps me to hear them especially when the world is so crazy.
Sage Thrashers are only in Utah for their breeding season and by now all their chicks have fledged and are feeding on their own.
Two days ago I was able to spend a few minutes taking Black-capped Chickadee photos as small flock of them foraged in Common Mulleins.
My subject was actually a slightly messy Orange-crowned Warbler perched on a branch looking down at the ground.
The first time I raised my lens yesterday morning it was for blooming Prickly Poppies that were along the shoulder of the bumpy gravel road.
Yesterday morning I was delighted to take a nice series of young MacGillivray's Warbler images not long after the sun lit up the willow thicket it was foraging in.
Bird activity in the Wasatch Mountains has gotten slow but I was able to find and photograph an adult Gray Catbird with food for its young two days ago.
Yesterday morning the second bird I photographed was a Yellow Warbler on an old branch in a smoky haze high in the Wasatch Mountains.
What I missed seeing was that the immature Belted Kingfisher had spider webs stuck to its face in a long series of photos that I took of it next to a creek in the Wasatch Mountains.
I couldn't escape the smoke that is covering Utah even high in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday but I was delighted to photograph a Least Chipmunk and wildflowers through the smoky haze.
Last week before the smoke started to darken the skies in northern Utah I had a few seconds to photograph an adult Cliff Swallow next to a steep mountain road.
Three days ago I was delighted to have both an immature and an adult male Belted Kingfisher in my viewfinder as I sat next to a creek in the mountains.
I photographed my first of year juvenile American Robin two days ago as it foraged on its own high in a Wasatch Mountain canyon near a creek.
I'm sharing another simple post this morning of a Cedar Waxwing I photographed last summer that had a small chokecherry in its bill that wasn't ripe.
Today I am sharing four male Belted Kingfisher photos that I have taken this spring in the Wasatch Mountains starting with one that I took yesterday morning.
Last week I made two trips out to the West Desert and today I am sharing a medley of recent birds that I found while I was out there.
Yesterday I was able to take the Violet-green Swallow photos that I have been dreaming of since I first moved to Utah in 2009.
The last time I was up in the Wasatch Mountains I heard several "FITZ-bew" calls but didn't see a single Willow Flycatcher out in the open.
Three days ago I watched as a male Belted Kingfisher caught a small fish, landed on a branch and swallowed his catch of the day high in the Wasatch Mountains.
I spent my morning up in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday and came home with photos of bluebells, currants, warblers, and a duck.
The wildflowers and flowering shrubs are beginning to bloom in the mountains and canyons and for me that means it's time for hummingbird photography.
Saturday morning I was delighted when a male Belted Kingfisher flew in and perched in front of pussy willow catkins high in the Wasatch Mountains.
I took my first of year Yellow Warbler photos in the Wasatch Mountains when I drove up into the mountains on Friday morning.
Today I am celebrating six years of daily posts without missing a day here at On The Wing Photography. That is two thousand one hundred and ninety-two days of nonstop publication.
I was hoping to find my first of the year Swainson's Hawks yesterday but instead I spotted my first of year Ospreys.