Low Light Singing Say’s Phoebe
Listening to an adult Say's Phoebe singing in low light on Antelope Island State Park two days ago was a true auditory delight for my ears.
Listening to an adult Say's Phoebe singing in low light on Antelope Island State Park two days ago was a true auditory delight for my ears.
Earlier this month I stopped to take photos of a drake Hooded Merganser floating on the Bear River before the sun lit up that part of the refuge.
Of all the photos I took yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge the one I liked the most is of this Rough-legged Hawk in early morning light.
Quite a few winters ago when seeing Coyotes on Antelope Island was more routine than rare I photographed this Coyote in snowy whiteout conditions on the island.
While looking back through some old winter photos I came across this Black-tailed Jackrabbit I photographed on a snowy day on Antelope Island.
I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.
Nine days ago this Rough-legged Hawk resting on a National Wildlife sign in low light was the first hawk I spotted and photographed.
Thirteen years ago this morning I photographed a Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and the Earth Shadow on the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park on the west coast of Florida.
Today is National Hummingbird Day and I am celebrating by sharing some Rufous Hummingbird photos I took earlier this week on Antelope Island.
Yesterday I went out to Antelope Island for the first time since April and I took hundreds of Rufous Hummingbird photos plus some of the rising sun.
A little birdie told me that Tree Swallows returned to the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge about the middle of this month.
Ten days ago when I took this male Spotted Towhee image close to home I had tough, low light conditions to photograph him in.
Earlier this week I photographed a male Dark-eyed Junco in snow close to home in poor, low light conditions. I am happy with how the photo turned out.
Today I am sharing two high key type images of an immature Red-tailed Hawk I photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.
Two days ago there were plenty of White-crowned Sparrows in the same area where I photographed two Spotted Towhees.
Snow continues to pass by where I live in northern Utah this winter so I thought I'd bring some snow to my site with a high key Gray Partridge photo.
When I first moved to Utah in 2009 I never expected to be able to do urban raptor photography from my living room window.
It is a chilly 29°F where I live in northern Utah on New Year's Day 2021 and from my living room window I can see that it is foggy outside.
This Green Heron was photographed not long after I first started focusing on and photographing birds while I still lived in Florida.
After reviewing the images I took of the gull at home on a larger screen I was happy to see that it was a Herring Gull, gulls we only see in the winter here.
The longer I looked at the high key photos I took of this Ring-billed Gull in the snow the more I have enjoyed viewing them.
I can't say that I prefer one of these Ring-billed Gull images over the other, the low light image is as appealing to me as the one I took in afternoon light. I enjoy them both.
Because of the low light and snowy conditions on the first day of the year I did not take many photos of the birds that I saw but I did get a few mallard images that I liked.
So if you don't enjoy the craziness that can happen at Farmington Bay WMA when the Bald Eagles arrive for the winter just pick an area and go for a relaxed drive to another location.
I might have taken some wonderful photos of birds in nice light yesterday if I had only listened to my instincts and gone out to look for birds.
When the American Coots come close to me I am also able to take portraits of them that show their red eyes and their ivory colored bills with their reddish-brown frontal shields.
Why were the mallards sticking close to this Redhead? That was because she was diving down into the pond and bringing up aquatic vegetation to feed on and the mallards were stealing bits of it from her.
I actually like photographing birds in a snow storm because the low light situations test my skills, the limits of my gear and the resulting photos often have a moody feeling to them.
This immature Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk is striking with those white polka dot spots on its back, I don't think I have ever seen a young Red-tail where the white spots on the scapulars are so pronounced.
I didn't see or photograph as many Rough-legged Hawks last winter as I have in previous years but I did have a close up, extraordinary experience with one who was expelling a pellet on a snowy, foggy day at Bear River MBR.