An Immature Rough-legged Hawk Hunting For Prey At Bear River MBR
Two days ago when I stopped counting Rough-legged Hawks while at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge the number had topped out at fifteen.
Split Second Eye Contact With An Immature Northern Harrier
Two frames later the immature Northern Harrier tilted its head, looked directly towards my lens, and seemed to eyeball me and my gear.
Great Blue Heron In Winter Snow
On that bright winter afternoon one of my best avian subjects was this Great Blue Heron standing in water with a bank of fresh, white snow behind it.
Snowy Great Egret
I was thrilled to have this big, white wading bird where I could take photos of it in what was on that day a winter wonderland.
Song Sparrows In The Marsh Of Farmington Bay
I probably see Song Sparrows more often and in more habitats than any other sparrow species here in Utah. I am delighted by that.
Visions Of Tundra Swans
I need to get to Bear River MBR soon because I have visions of Tundra Swans drifting through my mind and I'd love to see them in person on the marshes of the refuge again.
Male House Finches Feeding On The Seeds Of Greasewood
Having this male House Finch perched in a frost kissed Greasewood a few days ago with blue sky behind it did make him stand out well.
Resting Ruddy Duck In A Fog
I'm really glad I looked at these ducks in the fog and decided to take photos of them even though I was looking towards the sun instead of away from it like I typically do when photographing birds.
The Trumpeter Swan I Couldn’t Rescue
As I look at this Trumpeter Swan photo and see my Jeep reflected in its eyes I feel a sense of loss. I know that I won't forget the swan that I couldn't rescue.
Immature Red-tailed Hawk Close Up
The thing about this immature Red-tailed Hawk photo is this: I don't like the background color because I see these colors, tones and hues so frequently where I live in northern Utah.
Leaping American Pipit At Farmington Bay WMA
With scores of pipits flying in, flying out and moving around on the rocks it was a challenge to decide which bird to have in my viewfinder.
Male Dark-eyed Junco Close Up At Farmington Bay WMA
As common as Dark-eyed Juncos are I have surprisingly few photos of them in my galleries and that is why I get excited when I can add a new photo of them to my portfolio.
Reasons Why We May Be Seeing Fewer Northern Harriers At Farmington Bay
I don't see nearly as many harriers over the marshes at Farmington Bay as I used to five to ten years ago but the marshes have changed some since I moved to northern Utah.
Focusing On A Greater Yellowlegs With A Small Fish
I'd watched the Greater Yellowlegs foraging and most of the time the prey was too tiny to see but this little fish was a nice catch for the shorebird and for me.
Savannah Sparrow On Some Rocks At Farmington Bay WMA
Usually when I see and photograph Savannah Sparrows they are on barbed wire, fence posts, railings or on the ground so seeing a Savannah on rocks was a nice change for me.
Long-tailed Weasel In Tall Grasses At Farmington Bay WMA
The Long-tailed Weasel stood up, looked around and then made a mad dash back to the west side of the road before I lost sight of it in the vegetation.
American Bitterns Can Be Hard To Spot
American Bitterns can be very hard to spot at times since they blend into their habitat so well because of their cryptic plumage patterns and because they are so skulky.
Molting Immature Clark’s Grebe Shaking Its Feathers
Our Clark's and Western Grebes will be leaving here soon and except for a few downy feathers on this one's forehead it looks like it is ready to take on its first migration.
Muskrat Eating Filamentous Algae At Farmington Bay WMA
Yesterday I photographed a muskrat I found eating green filamentous algae at Farmington Bay WMA which I thought was interesting because I had never seen one eating algae before.
Autumn Marsh Wrens In Northern Utah
Marsh Wrens are year round residents here in northern Utah and this week I've photographed them in the marshes of both Farmington Bay WMA and Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Snowy Egrets Foraging, Fighting, Landing And Lifting Off
These nine Snowy Egret photos are just a fraction of the images I took of a small flock of these snowy, white birds with golden slippers yesterday morning on the marshes of Farmington Bay WMA.
White-faced Ibis On The Wing Over The Marsh At Farmington Bay WMA
I took this White-faced Ibis on the wing over the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA photo last week and at first I thought the bird was too small in the frame but the more I look at it the more I like it.
Remarkably Symmetrical Molt In A Ring-Billed Gull
Not only was this Ring-billed Gull in molt it was molting in a remarkably symmetrical pattern which I found interesting. Because the gull was in flight the symmetry was very visible.
Rough-legged Hawk On A Snowy Day At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
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.
Mirage As Seen From Bear River MBR Auto Tour Route
Whatever this mirage was, it got my attention and I felt I had to stop and take photos of this naturally occurring optical phenomena, I mean I don't see things like this everyday!
Poof: Utah’s Merlins Could Disappear
In my experience Merlins are already hard to find in the state of Utah but because of our climate crisis they could become even more difficult to locate or they might even disappear from the state altogether.
Female And Male Black-necked Stilts
These two Black-necked Stilt photos were taken 9 days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I thought they could easily show the difference between the female and male of this species.
Focusing On An Adult Black-crowned Night Heron
I was glad to focus on the Black-crowned Night Herons I saw that morning because of late I have seen fewer of them than I have on past years which has meant fewer opportunities to photograph them.
American Avocet and Black-necked Stilt Chicks at Bear River MBR
I spent part of my morning yesterday photographing American Avocet and Black-necked Stilt chicks from the auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and it was a blast watching these young shorebirds.
Snowy Egret In Flight Over The Green Marsh At Bear River MBR
Sometimes the simplicity of an image is what draws me in and keeps me happily satisfied with it and that is what I enjoy about this photo of a Snowy Egret in flight over the marsh at Bear River MBR, the simplicity.