Recently Fledged Loggerhead Shrike
It won't be long before these young Loggerhead Shrikes earn the name "Butcher Bird" by following their parents wing beats!
Juvenile Loggerhead Shrike close up
Yesterday a family of Loggerhead Shrikes kept us busy for a bit as the juveniles begged the adults to feed them and the adults were hunting food to bring to the rather noisy youngsters on Antelope Island State Park.
Great Horned Owlet in a granary window
I'm extremely fond of owls, it might be their forward facing eyes that draws me to them. Of course I love all birds but to me owls are special.
Western Burrowing Owls are declining throughout their range
Western Burrowing Owls populations are declining, human population explosion and subsequent urban development plus habitat degradation has reduced Burrowing Owl populations by 60% and that number is still rising.
Juvenile Willet looking for prey
It won't be long before I start seeing juvenile Willets that are about the size of the one pictured here.
Red-tailed Hawks – Buteo jamaicensis
Buteos are medium to large hawks with broad wings, wide bodies and short tails that soar in wide lazy circles and most often hunt from a high perch from which they drop down to their prey.
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron Stalking Prey
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron Stalking prey at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk In Really Bad Light
Sometimes I take the shot despite knowing that I am not shooting in optimal conditions, most of the time the results are awful but once in awhile I actually enjoy the final image.
Adult and juvenile White Ibis
White Ibis can be strange looking birds to people who have never seen them before, they have soft, sky blue eyes, skinny legs, long necks and a bill that could be compared to Jimmy Durante's nose.
Burrowing Owl juvenile on a Sagebrush
I can't resist photographing Burrowing Owls, I just can't. They are so much fun to see and observe.
I have Montana’s birds on my mind
This time of the year I start dreaming about the Centennial Valley of Montana and of the birds that call the valley home during the summer.
Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk Learning To Hunt
This juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk was perched on a metal fence post so I opted to go for a portrait to remove the "hand of man".
Photograph but don’t touch – Wildlife Ethics
I do hope that non-photographers and the general public know that behavior like this is an exception and that ethical photographers would not have gone up and petted the Sandhill Cranes.
Burrowing Owls draw me in
Last week I spotted my first Burrowing Owl of the year, it was a distance away and I didn't take any images of it but I had to do a wiggle dance in my seat because I was excited seeing one again.
Great Horned Owlet on a Montana Farm
People are fascinated by owls, I know I am. It might be that owls have forward facing eyes like this Great Horned Owlet. Those eyes truly draw a person in.
Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk expelling a pellet
Last summer I was able to see and photograph a juvenile Swainson's Hawk expelling a pellet in Beaverhead County, Montana.
Snow Geese on the shore of the Great Salt Lake
I'm hoping to go on a "Goose Chase" this morning, the sky is supposed to be clear so there should be good light and I would be delighted to see some snow, Snow Geese that is!
Wilson’s Plover with chicks
I enjoyed my brief, long distance opportunity to photograph and observe these Wilson's Plovers and chicks, it was a small window into their life.
Juvenile Red-naped Sapsucker in the high Uintas
This juvenile Red-naped Sapsucker image was taken on my first camping trip in the high Uintas in Summit County, Utah not far from Christmas Meadows.
A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk fly by
Just a simple juvenile Red-tailed Hawk this morning that I took last year on Antelope Island State Park as it flew past me with the dark Farmington complex rocks in the background.
Great Horned Owl fledgling in a Montana granary window
Currently throughout the breeding range of Great Horned Owls the owls have either begun to nest or have nested already. Great Horned Owls have a large range and are found in the U.S., Canada and Central America.
Red-shouldered Hawk Juvenile – Small In The Frame
Five days ago I posted a Bald Eagle image where the eagle was small in the frame and explained that I felt that the setting was as important as the subject, I also feel that way about this image of a Red-shouldered Hawk juvenile perched in a tree.
Harlan’s Hawk juvenile with an American Coot (Graphic)
I haven't had many opportunities to photograph the Harlan's subspecies of the Red-tailed Hawk so I was thrilled yesterday when I spotted a juvenile dark morph Harlan's Hawk feeding on a dead American Coot on the bank of a creek.
Comparing Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons
The adult Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons aren't terribly difficult to tell apart though the juveniles can be more of a challenge.
Some fun with birds from yesterday
A wonderful fun-filled day with great companionship and plenty of birds. I can't ask for more.
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron – A Winter Treat
I've mentioned before that Great Blue Herons stay in the Salt Lake Valley over winter even though the temperatures get very cold and so do some of the Black-crowned Night Herons.
Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow in a snow storm
The White-crowned Sparrow in this image is small in the frame, the bird isn't super sharp and there isn't a lot of contrast or color to the photo either yet the image speaks to me.
Red-tailed Hawk fly by
I photographed this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk flying by last month at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area in Davis County.
Fledgling Burrowing Owl
This fledgling Burrowing Owl was just learning to fly at the time and wasn't always great at landing. When I took this image it had made a soft crash landing into the Rabbitbrush and it was trying to get its balance back.
Hatch year Red-tailed Hawk
I recall that when I first started photographing the juvenile Red-tailed Hawks in this area back in August that they missed their prey more times than they would capture it and now they seem to have gone the other way, they are catching the prey more than they are missing it.