This photo session with an immature Swainson's Hawk reinforced how as a bird photographer I need to not only be keenly aware of changing light it also showed how I may need to quickly change my settings to get the photos I want.
I live in such a beautiful state and even though birds are my primary focus as subjects the natural world that surrounds me is endlessly fascinating, stunning and I hope I never lose the sense of wonder I feel when I see it.
Ah, Mia, it is just a bird. No, it isn't just a bird. Because California Gulls aren't the only birds at risk of disappearing from the skies, shorelines and waters of Utah.
Sometimes the simplicity of an image is what draws me in and keeps me happily satisfied with it and that is what I enjoy about this photo of a Snowy Egret in flight over the marsh at Bear River MBR, the simplicity.
Three days ago I was tickled to finally see some American Avocet chicks on the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, I've been waiting to see these little puff balls this year!
I spent yesterday morning enjoying a Broad-tailed Hummingbird bliss in the Wasatch Mountains by finding their favorite perches and photographing them feeding, resting, and defending their territories.
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.
One of the birds that caught my attention at my local pond yesterday during the snow storm was an adult Double-crested Cormorant flying in front of a willow tree with lots of snowflakes in the frame.
I miss seeing and photographing Turkey Vultures during the winter and now I am excited that very soon I'll be seeing them roosting on fence posts, rocky outcroppings, cattle gates, trees, corrals and the ground, riding the thermals, thermoregulating and scarfing up road kill all over the place!
Our Tundra Swans won't be at the refuge much longer and will soon be winging their way to their breeding grounds in the Arctic and I realize that my opportunities to photograph them before they leave are dwindling.
I love the darkness and the light in the stormy sky in the background, how well lit the Short-eared Owl was and the position of his wings in flight and I like that he is small in this frame because this is often the view that I and others have of these wonderful owls in the field.
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?
I always feel fortunate when I am able to photograph winter Barn Owls in flight during daylight hours but that means that these gorgeous owls are struggling to stay alive and that is a concern for me.
Even though my primary focus was on photographing Bald Eagles I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to take photos of the other birds I saw on the wing at Farmington Bay that morning.
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.
I drove up to Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning because it looked like there was going to be some nice light and because the forecast for the next week looks rather dismal for bird photography and I'm so very glad I went because I was able to photograph my first of the year American White Pelicans.
I had a Common Raven that was close enough to get a few images of it in flight and it excited me.
One year ago today I spent the morning focusing on and photographing the Tundra Swans and wetlands of Bear River MBR and I have to say that those birds and the marshes bring me such joy that I feel like I have to share them over and over.
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.
It is winter here but the birds know that spring is around the corner and more gatherings like the ones I saw two days ago will happen again and I hope I am able to slow down and enjoy it.
When the clouds cleared out yesterday morning there were birds to be found and today I am focusing my daily post on the White-faced Ibis that overwinter in the marshes of Farmington Bay WMA that I photographed there yesterday.
Being at eye level with this Rough-legged Hawk carrying prey along the causeway to Antelope Island is an experience I won't soon forget.
In the case of this photo of a lone Canada Goose flying in front of the snowy Wasatch Mountains I took the photo because I liked how nicely lit the goose was in contrast to the darker, snow and cloud covered mountains.
I am itching to get back out into the field and one of the places I am most excited to get back to is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Box Elder County, Utah because of the Tundra Swans that I know are there.
What caught my eyes was that one of the cormorants was smaller, sleeker and darker than the other two birds and before I even scoped it through my lens I knew that I had found an out of season Neotropic Cormorant.
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 really did get a Christmas Goose yesterday when I spotted my first of winter Snow Goose that was resting on a boulder near the banks of the Jordan River yesterday.
The light was best when the geese flew in front of the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains which is when I photographed this flying Canada Goose with its wings above its body.
I was able to photograph two Ferruginous Hawks yesterday morning in the West Desert in Tooele County. The light was good, I had birds in my viewfinder and I was away from our building inversion so I was one happy woman.
One photo that made me laugh as soon as I saw it on my camera's LCD screen, a peek-a-boo Canada Goose peering at me through its wing tips as it came in to land on the pond.