Centennial Valley Bull Elk in Velvet
When I spotted two bull elk early in the morning in the sagebrush of the Centennial Valley on the 10th of July I was very excited and started taking photos as soon as I could.
When I spotted two bull elk early in the morning in the sagebrush of the Centennial Valley on the 10th of July I was very excited and started taking photos as soon as I could.
Two days ago I watched and photographed as April Olson who is a volunteer at Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah release a rehabbed Burrowing Owl and it was very exciting for me because I've never been to a release before
I didn't have the good fortune to photograph another Cassin's Finch on my trip so I am glad I took the time to take photos of this one looking around his home in the Centennial Valley of Montana.
Today's post is just a simple bird. A sky blue Mountain Bluebird perched on a rustic pine fence railing taken on a bright beautiful morning in the Centennial Valley of Montana.
This male Red-naped Sapsucker was photographed last year in the high Uintas, a mountain range that is east of Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Mountains I can see from where I live.
The young Mountain Bluebird turned and snatched the cricket from the male quickly before any of its siblings could reach the branches.
Both times I photographed this male Burrowing Owl yesterday morning he looked very sleepy, he may be worn out from helping to raise a passel of chicks.
My best photos of the day were of a buck Pronghorn that was very close to the dirt road I was on, he was so close I had trouble keeping all of his head in the frame.
Female Red-winged Blackbirds seem to be the birds that are most often misidentified probably because they look so different from the males. Red-winged Blackbirds are sexually dimorphic .
I photographed this male Belted Kingfisher last month as it perched on a thin branch at a small pond close to the Jordan River in Salt Lake County, Utah.
Someday I will get the images I desire of these dainty Yellow Warblers. Bird photography is challenging and I wouldn't have it any other way.
One good bird can make the the day when photographing birds in the field, yesterday that bird was a male Green-tailed Towhee I spotted perched on a shrub in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains.
Even though it is late May there are still male Red-winged Blackbirds displaying and singing their little hearts out here in northern Utah and that is what this male blackbird was doing.
I was surprised yesterday to be able to take portraits of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds because they normally fly away from me instead of flying towards me.
Last year I was able to spend time photographing this male Tree Swallow in low light in the Targhee National Forest of Idaho and even though the light wasn't the best I still liked the resulting images.
I love all birds, even birds that some people tend to ignore when it comes to bird photography but I have to admit that I am particularly fond of photographing owls, especially Burrowing Owls.
There have been a few Short-eared Owls that I keep seeing in the same locations over a period of about a month and yesterday I believe that I saw and photographed a male Short-eared Owl hunting for prey for his chicks.
I was able to point my lens at this male Red-tailed Hawk on a lichen-covered perch for a few frames before he flew away.
There was a very cooperative first spring male Northern Harrier in a location where I photographed Short-eared Owls last year in northern Utah and for two months I could reliably see and photograph it frequently.
Two years ago today I was in the Targhee National Forest of Clark County, Idaho photographing birds at what I called the "Magical Sapsucker Tree".
The "Circling" courtship behavior of Royal Terns was one that I found interesting because as the male circled the female she moved too and kept her sides facing him.
The pair of American Avocets were feeding in the grasses and the water right next to the edge of the grasses when I first saw them then the female squatted down on what I presume to be their nest.
Yesterday morning in northern Utah I saw about a dozen Swainson's Hawks in about 2.25 miles, some were perched, some were in flight and all of them were wonderful to photograph.
Two mornings ago I photographed the side lit male Burrowing Owl with wildflowers in the background but with all the rain we have been having it won't be long before the vegetation completely obscures the burrow and the owls.
It was challenging to photograph these Burrowing Owls and wildflowers yesterday in the windy conditions but I am glad I had the opportunity because the wildflowers won't last all that long.
I was so happy to photograph this mixture of spring birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge that I had a hard time picking out which birds and which photos to share.
Spring is a time when the Horned Larks here in Utah perch on top of rocks, posts, mounds of dirt, junipers and sagebrush to sing their songs.
Three days ago while out on Antelope Island State Park under cloudy skies I was able to observe a glimpse into the mating behaviors of a pair of Western Meadowlarks.
Honeymoon Island State Park in Pinellas County, Florida is a great place to see and photograph nesting Ospreys, not just one or two nests either, there are often quite a few.
It felt great to photograph a nice mixture of birds yesterday and and to be out enjoying the beautiful scenery of northern Utah. Life is good.