I've been seeing lots of Greater Yellowlegs recently at Farmington Bay WMA here in northern Utah and that might seem unusual because signs of winter have already shown but it really isn't that unusual at all for this species of shorebirds.
Red-necked and Wilson's Phalaropes have started their fall migration and one of the places where they gather in large numbers is the Great Salt Lake where they show up in the tens of thousands to feed and rest before continuing their journey.
The Tundra Swans are truly at home in the landscape of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and they belong there as much as the mountains, marshes, birds, animals, fish, sky and the clouds overhead do.
Last week I found a small flock of American Goldfinches foraging on the auto tour route at Bear River MBR and I was able to capture a few images of them before they took off in a rush.
Last month I was able to photograph flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes on the Great Salt Lake when they were migrating through the area.
I just don't know but I do know I have never seen an American White Pelican in flight with its bill looking like this ever before and I have photographed them hundreds of times in flight.
Two years ago today I was in Beaverhead County, Montana photographing Cassin's Finches foraging on the seeds of dandelions on a morning that had sunshine and plenty of fog.
What is really fascinating to me is that within two days of fledging Ruddy Turnstone chicks embark on their first migration to their wintering grounds.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route is still closed and many of the birders, bird photographers and nature lovers are itching to know what birds are there because after all spring migration is an exciting time at the refuge.
American White Pelicans are returning to their breeding grounds in Utah and I have already seen a few of them myself and though I haven't been able to photograph them yet I know I will soon.
Finding a flock of Wild Turkeys close enough to photograph in the Promontory Mountain Range of Box Elder County yesterday was exciting and challenging too.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act has been monumentally successful and we need to insure that it continues and not allow the treaty to become weakened.
More of the swallows will migrate to the refuge very soon and the Cliff Swallow nesting season will start.
It is interesting to see this whirlpool effect of Northern Shovelers on the surface of the Great Salt Lake and to hear the sounds of their bills dabbling in the water.
I'm quite used to seeings birds and bison in close proximity on Antelope Island State Park not just during the warmer months but during the winter too.
Since the freezing temperatures arrived in my neighborhood I have been listening to a five o'clock Great-tailed Grackle cacophony nightly.
Last December on the way off of Antelope Island I saw huge flocks of Northern Shovelers feeding on the Great Salt Lake and liked how they appeared through my viewfinder.
I haven't seen Black Skimmers in over six years now but in my mind I can still hear them calling when I look at my images of a group of them in flight.
Not only are Tree Swallows colorful and beautiful they are bug-zapping machines and keep the number of flying insects down.
The light and clouds looked iffy this morning but Antelope Island didn't disappoint when it came to bison and birds plus some dramatic light.
Both versions of this frame of the sunrise Black Skimmers bring back memories from the morning I created this photo of them in their pre-dawn flight.
It is really cruddy here in Utah this morning so I thought I would go back in time to a warmer, sunnier day via the magic of some Black Skimmer images I created five years ago today.
One of the biggest surprises for me on my recent trip to southern Utah was coming across a "bouquet" of 500 or more Black Rosy-Finches that were foraging along the side of Utah State Highway 24.
It won't be long before the American White Pelicans are back at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge which is where I photographed the pelican in the image above last spring.
The first time I went to Antelope Island State Park was on July 28, 2008 and among the wonderful things that I saw and photographed that trip were hundreds of American Avocets along the causeway to the island.
Yellow-headed Blackbirds are filling the marshy areas of Utah with their odd mechanical calls once again as the males court the females for their annual spring fling.
Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) by the thousands overwinter in the Great Salt Lake area, it is not uncommon to see huge flocks of them at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area in northern Utah.
There were hundreds of thousands of Wilson's Phalaropes near the shoreline of the causeway, whirling around in the water and along the marshy areas not far from the park entrance.
During spring and fall migration there can be so many Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) on the Great Salt Lake that they are impossible to count.
I photographed this female Greater Sage-Grouse while up in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah.