Cozy Red-tailed Hawks And Finches Galore
Yesterday morning the first birds I spotted and photographed was a pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks side by side on a rocky ledge in early morning light.
Yesterday morning the first birds I spotted and photographed was a pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks side by side on a rocky ledge in early morning light.
You take photos of ten species of birds and the twelve photos of a Ring-billed Gull in flight are the images you are the most excited to view when you get home.
This morning I wanted to share a potpourri of Ruby-crowned Kinglet photos because I adore seeing and photographing these quick moving, charismatic little birds.
The first bird I photographed yesterday morning was an immature Cooper's Hawk that I found because I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk on a cliff face that the young accipiter decided to harass.
When this Barn Swallow came in to land it struggled a bit with the wind which is why its wings were raised to regain its balance in this image.
One of the birds I found that summer morning was a Great Egret perched on a stump that the waves of the Gulf had deposited on the shore of the beach.
I found these two foraging Greater Sage-Grouse high up on the Aquarius Plateau in Wayne County, Utah five years ago today.
The Song Sparrow didn't let the gray clouds overhead, the moisture in the air or its damp feathers stop it from singing to all the other birds within earshot. I have to admire that.
Almost one year ago I spent my morning photographing so many Yellow-rumped Warblers that they seemed to almost drip from the trees.
These are the stories behind how I took these Red-breasted Nuthatch and Juniper Titmouse photos while relaxing and enjoying a lovely day in the West Desert.
I got out into the field for a little while yesterday morning and because of the observation skills I have developed over many years I was able to find two Wild Turkey hens roosting in Aspen trees.
Mourning Doves aren't flashy but I think they are handsome birds and that their calls are hauntingly beautiful.
It is almost time for me to see a seasonal switch of raptors here in northern Utah because the Rough-legged Hawks will leaving and the Swainson's will arrive soon.
I spent some time yesterday morning focused on photographing an immature Black-crowned Night Heron at the dawn of the day in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.
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.
The Brown Pelican didn't do much while I had it in my viewfinder and I probably took way too many photos of it but I don't care, it was unique to see here in land-locked Utah and the setting of the Bear River was definitely different than the many times I have photographed this species back East.
On February 16th I woke to fresh snow on the ground and I knew I wanted to see if the American Robins were still feeding in the crabapple trees close to home.
It might seem a little late in the year to see immature Mourning Doves but it probably isn't because Mourning Doves can have as many as six broods per year.
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.
I see and photograph Short-eared Owls in Sagebrush Country quite often. I spend a lot of time in areas where there is sagebrush dotting the desert, steppes and hillsides here in Utah and I find these amazing owls there.
By having the Barn Owls smaller in the frame in my photos I can share more visual information about where these beautiful owls live, hunt and thrive.
The juvenile and out of focus adult Mourning Doves were perched on a lichen encrusted, slightly frosted fence rail near the road in the southern part of the Centennial Valley.
I will be listening for the male Marsh Wrens songs at the pond nearby and the marshes at Farmington Bay WMA and Bear River MBR and waiting to see them pop up on top of the cattails, phrags and rushes.
The bird that started my day was an immature Prairie Falcon at sunrise next to the Great Salt Lake and as the sun started to rise the falcon seemed to glow.
I headed up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning and I am very glad I did because of the wonderful birds I saw.
Two months ago today I was photographing on a Greater Sage-Grouse lek in 21°F weather in Wayne County, Utah.
As common as Great Blue Herons are throughout North America I am always happy to photograph these prehistoric looking birds.
Life is good
This Red-shouldered Hawk photo was taken in Florida in November of 2008 just after the hawk lifted off from an old snag near a Great Blue Heron I had been photographing.
This Snowy Egret was photographed as it stood in the shallow water of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach one early August morning in 2007.