Autumn Colors With An Immature Red-tailed Hawk In The Wasatch Mountains
I have to wonder though how many people walked or drove right past this young Red-tailed Hawk and never noticed that it was even there
I have to wonder though how many people walked or drove right past this young Red-tailed Hawk and never noticed that it was even there
Spotting this immature Cooper's Hawk resting in sagebrush yesterday was the highlight of my morning and even though the setting is messy I like that it shows this young hawk in the habitat this species can be found in.
I don't have many decent photos of immature Turkey Vultures so when I spotted several of them 11 days ago in northern Utah I was excited but my hopes for good light on the hatch year birds were dashed by clouds.
There are times when one bird can make my day and yesterday that bird was an immature Red-tailed Hawk that I spotted just before heading home after a trip into the mountains that included fog and other challenges.
I spent 26 minutes yesterday photographing juvenile Red-tailed Hawk siblings and had a blast watching them preen, lift off, flying, scratching, resting and landing.
When this hatch year Yellow Warbler popped out into an open area of a willow thicket in a beam of sunlight I was happy to take its photo.
As a bird photographer I'm feeling a sense of urgency now that I didn't feel a few weeks ago because as I watch the migrants in the Wasatch Mountains getting ready for their long journeys I know that my time for photographing them this year is quickly running out.
This Orange-crowned Warbler was only in my viewfinder for about a minute but she gave me great views and quite a few different poses to photograph and I was delighted with the photos I took.
The Orange-crowned Warbler gave me quite a few different poses and I was happy to take photos of her and the Utah Serviceberry shrub while she moved around.
Franklin's Gulls are only here in northern Utah during the breeding season, during the winter they spend their time along the west coast of South America.
It does seem odd though to see Great Blue Herons hanging around the Great Salt Lake after the chicks have fledged like this immature heron I photographed yesterday near the causeway.
The bird that started my day was an immature Prairie Falcon at sunrise next to the Great Salt Lake and as the sun started to rise the falcon seemed to glow.
Last year on September 8th I located an immature Sharp-shinned Hawk in the Centennial Valley of Montana early in the morning as it flew low to the ground looking for small birds to capture and consume.
It will take several molts before this immature Ring-billed Gull looks like an adult but by now, a year after it was photographed, this juvenile should look more like the adult.
The Great Salt Lake this time of the year is full of ducks and that means that there is ample food in the area for this young Peregrine Falcon.
In the fall of 2011 I enjoyed being able to photograph this first year Prairie Falcon several times close to the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
Where is the light when you want it? Yesterday it was hiding behind the clouds and lake fog when I spotted this Peregrine Falcon at a close distance, on prey and sticky.