Pre-migration Lazuli Buntings Fattening Up On Fruit
One year ago today I was up in the Wasatch Mountains photographing pre-migration Lazuli Buntings fattening on the fruits of serviceberries and most of them were either immature or female buntings.
One year ago today I was up in the Wasatch Mountains photographing pre-migration Lazuli Buntings fattening on the fruits of serviceberries and most of them were either immature or female buntings.
Our current climate crisis could mean Utah might lose our Mountain Bluebirds and it is not just us, it is Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming that will also be affected if action isn't taken now.
These two Black-necked Stilt photos were taken 9 days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I thought they could easily show the difference between the female and male of this species.
One of the dragonflies I photographed back East was a female Common Whitetail that was resting on a sidewalk, this dragonfly let me get close enough to take nice images even with my cell phone.
Like the chokecherries I wrote about yesterday it seems that because of our wetter than normal spring the serviceberries are also doing very well so there should be plentiful fruit for the birds to feast on before they migrate this fall.
I had more fun photographing Broad-tailed Hummingbirds in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning, probably more fun than should be legal.
The nicest surprise of the morning was when a female Belted Kingfisher perched on a branch close to a creek and the road.
The fore and background of this image may be messy or cluttered looking but I love the way this photo shows the female Yellow-headed Blackbird in the habitat I find them in at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
My best photo of the morning was a Mule Deer doe in a stand of junipers and even then a cloud blocked the beautiful light. Yes, that is snow on the junipers, on May 1st!
Later in the morning and on the other side of the auto tour route I was able to take images of a hen Cinnamon Teal surrounded by lush, green spring growth while her mate kept an eye on her from a distance.
I had a great time photographing this beautiful rufous Red-tailed Hawk yesterday morning and I'm glad I had good light when I did.
By the time I took this next image in the series the Red-tailed Hawk had straightened her legs, her wings were high over her body and she was pushing off from the rock.
The Yellow-bellied Marmot pup spent most of its time exploring the area around its burrow, climbing up and down the rocks, sitting, standing, scratching its fur, looking around and being a marmot pup in the wild where they belong.
I'm happy to see that the rufous female Red-tailed Hawk does have a mate and that they are building a nest to raise their young in, I hope they are successful.
Would you be able to ID this hawk from just this image or similar view of it in the field if I hadn't already identified it in my title and my photo caption?
The birds I photographed the most yesterday were a pair of Hooded Mergansers that were actively foraging for prey most of the time I had them in my viewfinder.
Snow and clouds are in the forecast for today and I have decided that today is the day for me to migrate On The Wing Photography over to the new server that I mentioned a while back.
I'm glad I had a few seconds to photograph this Great-tailed Grackle up close in the warm afternoon light before it was flushed and flew away.
Over the years that I have spent time photographing at my local pond I have seen a few odd ducks including hen Redheads with white feathers on their faces where they should be a soft brown and they pique my interest every time I view them through my lens.
I think that both male and female California Quail are striking birds with their head plumes, facial feather patterns, earth toned plumage and scaled underparts so whenever I see them I want to photograph them.
This female Great-tailed Grackle was the first bird I photographed yesterday and she was so close to me that I opted to take portraits of her in the nice afternoon light at my local pond.
I spent some time at one of the local ponds yesterday afternoon and came home with photos that made me smile and for a little while I forgot about the long hours I spent getting skunked on the road earlier in the day.
When I have the opportunity to take photos of birds in the sweet golden light of sunset I jump at the chance even if the bird is as common as a Mallard hen landing on a pond. Why wouldn't I?
Yesterday I photographed a small covey of California Quail, this the second time this month that I have seen and photographed these small upland game birds that have wiggly, little head plumes.
A few weeks ago I observed and photographed an immature female Northern Harrier repeatedly harassing a Ring-necked Pheasant hen out on the marshes at Farmington Bay.
Two days ago I found two California Quail hens perched low in a tree in Davis County, Utah and I was delighted that one of them was out in the open in nice light.
Three days ago I was able to photograph a female or immature Dark-eyed Junco of the Oreganus Group when it flew in and landed not too far away from me and I have to admit that seeing it excited me because I enjoy these birds so much.
Yesterday the "unexpected" bird was a juvenile Osprey in the Wasatch Mountains. I'd say it was unexpected because I'd been photographing songbirds and wasn't expecting to see North America's "Fish Hawk" in the same area.
This female or immature Wilson's Warbler isn't a photographic lifer for me but it is the first time I have gotten a decent image of one, most of the time I've gotten blurry images of them of just a small part of the bird.
On August 24th I had an opportunity to photograph this female Western Tanager out in the open perched on a Utah Serviceberry for a second or two.