I photographed this Great Blue Heron almost two years ago, walking gingerly on the thinning ice of the Bear River. I was on my way to the auto tour loop at the refuge when I spotted this heron.
Last month I photographed this hen Common Merganser in a small spot of open water next to an ice shelf at Bear River MBR. It was a very cold morning.
Earlier this week, I visited Bear River MBR and had a fantastic time capturing photographs of birds sliding on the ice. This included an adult Great Blue Heron.
On my last couple of trips up to Bear River MBR I have noticed that the Canada Geese have already started pairing up which is a definite sign of spring.
While I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago I was able to take quite a few Great Blue Heron images of four individual herons in the marsh.
Last week I was just as excited to take Ring-billed Gull images as I was to take photos of a delightful Horned Grebe on the marsh at Bear River MBR.
To my delight I was able to take Great Blue Heron photos yesterday on the Winter Solstice that I found on the banks of the Bear River at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
This Saturday, March 13th, is Swan Day here in Utah. It is a day to celebrate these large, white, beautiful birds that spend time here during the winter.
Three days ago I photographed this adult American Coot bathing on a sunny afternoon at a pond close to where I live in Salt Lake City.
All three of the Hooded Mergansers were close to me because there was a shelf of ice that prevented them from swimming out into the middle of the pond.
This may have been my last chance this winter to photograph a Great Blue Heron on ice so I am glad I took photos of it as it landed and cautiously walked around on the ice.
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.
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.
I removed the "Just A" from the title for this post and added "Focusing On A" instead. Why? Because I was focused on observing and photographing this Ring-billed Gull drinking from an icy pond and I'm happy to say that I was.
On January 2nd I noticed a Ring-billed Gull coming in for a landing on an iced over pond that was missing a leg and foot and I wondered how well it would handle the slippery ice while attempting to land on it.
While at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago I spotted my first of the season Common Merganser from the auto tour route.
The Ring-billed Gulls up close to me were bathing frequently so I focused on them for a bit to catch them splashing and dipping their heads and bodies into the water.
It might look like this Great Blue Heron is hacking up some type of fluid seen in between and to the left of its bill but that is actually a hunk of ice attached to the heron's breast feathers.
Common Goldeneyes are diving sea ducks that over winter in the Salt Lake Valley where I see and photograph them at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park and at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
I spotted this Great Blue Heron yesterday at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area and loved the setting with the fresh snow blanketing the steep creek bank.