Green Heron In A Maple Swamp At Saw Grass Lake Park
This Green Heron was photographed not long after I first started focusing on and photographing birds while I still lived in Florida.
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.
This photo session with an immature Swainson's Hawk reinforced how as a bird photographer I need to not only be keenly aware of changing light it also showed how I may need to quickly change my settings to get the photos I want.
I was excited to have been able to take a decent image of an American Mink when I found this one in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning.
Our Tundra Swans won't be at the refuge much longer and will soon be winging their way to their breeding grounds in the Arctic and I realize that my opportunities to photograph them before they leave are dwindling.
I've never been this close to a Rough-legged Hawk expelling a pellet before and it is likely that I will never be this fortunate again. This Rough-legged Hawk was my best bird for the day and I'm glad I stopped and waited for him to expel the pellet before moving on down the auto tour route.
This pair of Canada Geese were photographed last winter near the Jordan River close to where I live at the tail end of a storm similar to the storm occurring right now.
At first I thought the single Red-breasted Merganser was a female until I noticed the white patches of feathers behind its neck on its sides and then I realized that the merganser was a male because females do not typically have those white patches.
This Redhead isn't "angry" at all but it does look angry to my eyes and this morning I'm feeling about as angry as this duck looks. I'll explain but first I have to give a bit more information about how my mornings start.
During the winter I have opportunities to photograph California Gulls in flight in snow storms in low light and while images like this one aren't appealing to everyone's tastes I like them a lot.
There are times I enjoy finding hidden faces in clouds, rocks, trees or other natural features and I saw one in this House Wren photo.
I enjoy viewing the image of the drake Redhead on the snowy January morning just as much as the drake Redhead photo on a clear February afternoon, they both show the ducks doing what ducks do no matter what the weather is doing.
Even though the light yesterday morning wasn't optimal for bird photography I took my Mom to the Farmington Bay WMA area to show her around there, we only made it as far as Glover Pond though.
I get absolutely tired of the frustrations I have had trying to photograph Golden Eagles, it seems that something or someone always messes with my chances of getting the images I want of them.
It was a bitter cold January morning in 2016 when I photographed this Cooper's Hawk on prey that I found not far from where I live.
This particular Red-tailed Hawk has such a striking appearance and not one of the photos I have taken of it thus far show just how freaking gorgeous it actually is.
Seeing a few flocks of Tundra Swans in flight two days in northern Utah was a reminder that these big, white swans have already begun their migration to their breeding grounds on the tundra of northern Canada and Alaska.
I would have been totally skunked yesterday if I hadn't spotted the top of this Red-tailed Hawk's head and some wing movement where it was buried in a sagebrush next to a hillside.
Because I had noticed the Common Goldeneye drake's behavior I was able to photograph him as he assumed the Head-throw posture.
I like how both these two American Wigeon photos turned out even though they were taken in different lighting conditions, they are both pleasing to my eye.