Juvenile Lark Sparrow on Antelope Island
I don't often have the opportunity to photograph young Lark Sparrows so I jumped at the chance last Saturday when I saw this one on Antelope Island State Park.
I don't often have the opportunity to photograph young Lark Sparrows so I jumped at the chance last Saturday when I saw this one on Antelope Island State Park.
Bear River National Wildlife Refuge was lovely yesterday morning and one of the nice surprises I found was this juvenile Wilson's Phalarope on the west side of the auto tour route.
I went wandering in the West Desert of Utah yesterday because the views are always great and because I hoped to find a few birds.
I think I could photograph juvenile Burrowing Owls for two months straight and not get bored with them.
Antelope Island State Park is full of juvenile Loggerhead Shrikes right now so it looks like the shrikes had a very successful nesting season.
Leopards don't change their spots but juvenile Burrowing Owls do change their spots on their chests as they mature.
When I looked at this Burrowing Owl image on my monitor I had to chuckle because in a strange way it reminded me of myself when I first dove off of a 10 meter platform and how my toes were the last to let go.
I thought I would share some images I have taken of Western Burrowing Owls that I took over several days spent with them in Box Elder County, Utah.
Last week I posted an image of Burrowing Owl siblings that I found in northern Utah and today I am posting images of that burrow after spending yesterday morning being delighted by them once more.
On the 20th of May I saw my first of the year Loggerhead Shrike fledglings but it wasn't until the 24th that I was able to photograph this young shrike.
I have already seen Sage Thrasher chicks on Antelope Island State Park and I suspect it won't be long before I see juvenile Western Meadowlarks learning how to fly and feed on their own.
For every Mom everywhere
Last week I saw my first of the season Swainson's Hawk not too far from the visitor's center at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge and that got me excited.
It has been five and a half years since I photographed American Oystercatchers at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida and oddly enough I still dream about these shorebirds.
This morning winter is trying to creep back into northern Utah but I am thinking of warmer weather, Montana and Great Horned Owls.
This morning I was looking through some images that I had taken in August of 2014 and came across this juvenile Western Kingbird photo that I hadn't touched at all.
This could be the seventh record of a Gyrfalcon in Utah, we will have to wait and see if it accepted. I hope the bird sticks around so that other people can see it.
On the way out of the refuge in an area I have heard called Curlew Flats I spotted this juvenile Northern Harrier on the ground and was able to take a few images of it before it lifted off with prey in its talons.
I wonder if this juvenile Swainson's made the long migration to South America and if I will see it again in the Centennial Valley of Montana this spring.
The first year I after I moved to Utah was great for photographing Burrowing Owls and their young both on Antelope Island State Park and the causeway to it.
Earlier this week I was able to photograph a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow up close while it fed on sagebrush seeds on Antelope Island State Park.
It was chilly but bright yesterday morning and there were bluebird skies overhead and Antelope Island State Park beckoned and I of course heeded that call.
Raising the glass attached to my camera that is! I'm excited about the photographic opportunities that will present themselves in 2015.
It rained most of the day here so I looked at a few Brown Pelican images taken in December in Florida where it was much sunnier in 2008.
I love to photograph birds in flight and it doesn't matter which species it is. But I do thoroughly enjoy photographing raptors like this Northern Harrier as they fly by.
A little brown bird (LBB) popped into my view today that I couldn't resist photographing and it was this juvenile White-crowned Sparrow.
In February of 2011 there was a first year Bald Eagle at Farmington Bay WMA that seemed totally unafraid and unconcerned about the people near it.
I could not resist photographing the young Red-tailed Hawk though as it lifted off and flew in front of me after prey even though conditions were not ideal.
In February of 2011 I wrote about the age progression of Bald Eagles along with images to illustrate the ages, today I am doing the same but with Ring-billed Gulls.
I write about the raptors I expect to see during the winter in Utah but there are also song birds I keep an eye out for too like this immature Northern Shrike.