2020 Photographic Year In Review
This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.
This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.
Today I wanted to share some of the Christmas Day bird photos I have taken through the years out in the field and close to home.
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.
I could see a Bald Eagle being chased by a gull in the sky and my heart skipped a beat because I know it is time for me to keep an eye on the sky for Bald Eagles again.
Veterans Day is always held on November 11th and is a day set aside to honor all of those who have served our country in war or peace.
I'm not sure why I like this Bald Eagle image as much as I do but I do know that while I am looking at it I feel calm.
I took eighty-four images of the Bald Eagle pair mating on the frozen reservoir and the entire time the magpie stood on the ice close to them.
I did find a sub-adult Bald Eagle resting on the ice on the last leg of the refuge loop and even though it was at a distance I wanted to photograph it because of the marshy habitat it was in.
Three days ago I photographed an adult Bald Eagle resting on the frost-covered, icy marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah.
No matter how these Golden Eagle photos came to be I am happy to have photographed this magnificent bird on the wing.
On the first of February when I found and photographed an unusual and distinctive Bald Eagle with leucism I also photographed two more immature eagles in the same area.
Yesterday morning I spent some time up in the Wasatch Mountains and I am so glad that I did because I found a second winter Bald Eagle with leucism.
So if you don't enjoy the craziness that can happen at Farmington Bay WMA when the Bald Eagles arrive for the winter just pick an area and go for a relaxed drive to another location.
One of my trips out to Fish Springs NWR happened during this time of the year and while I was there so was a gorgeous adult Bald Eagle that perched in the trees near the picnic area not too far from the refuge headquarters.
I'd gotten the long distance images of the Bald Eagles at Farmington Bay that I wanted to take plus close up images of this adult eagle as it flew past me. It was a great morning to be at Farmington Bay.
So, even though I didn't get great photos yesterday I was glad to get out and photograph a Barn Owl, Bald Eagle and these California and Ring-billed Gulls.
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.
I get absolutely tired of the frustrations I have had trying to photograph Golden Eagles, it seems that something or someone always messes with my chances of getting the images I want of them.
Three years ago today I found and photographed a Golden Eagle that was soaring along the east side of Antelope Island over the Great Salt Lake.
Two days ago this Golden Eagle was perched on a rocky outcrop but because of a blind spot I didn't see it quite soon enough but at least I was able to get a few decent images of it.
Further down the road I spotted a dark lump on the shoulder and my heart sank because I immediately realized that the lump was a deceased Golden Eagle.
Twice in the past two weeks I have seen Bald Eagles, one four year old bird in flight over the marshes at Farmington Bay WMA and one juvenile perched in a tree up in Box Elder County.
This is National Wildlife Refuge Week and in celebration I wanted to do a pictorial essay that includes some of my images of the Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
I like that Esther the Eaglet is written with children in mind and that it might inspire the children who read it to become rehabilitators, biologists, ornithologists, nature lovers, birders, environmentalists or even bird photographers like myself.
I spent time in northern Utah yesterday and I was able to photograph a juvenile Golden Eagle, Turkey Vultures plus a covey of Gray Partridges.
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.
I photographed this adult Bald Eagle at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge early on New Year's Day when the light of dawn was still golden.
When the Bald Eagle lifted off I could see the prey in its talons but it wasn't until I viewed the image on my screen at home that I could tell that the prey was most likely an Eared Grebe because of the lobed feet.
During the winter Farmington Bay has a large population of overwintering Bald Eagles that migrate down from northern states and Canada.
I photographed this adult Bald Eagle as it perched on ice covering the Great Salt Lake in early morning light in January 2012.