Memories of a much cooler day
This is the 6th day of triple digits here and we have been breaking records nearly everyday. It is hot. Normally we are in the upper 80's this time of the year.
This is the 6th day of triple digits here and we have been breaking records nearly everyday. It is hot. Normally we are in the upper 80's this time of the year.
Yesterday I went wandering on the Mount Nebo Scenic Byway and although it wasn't "birdy" it was a beautiful drive and I enjoyed it immensely.
Earlier this week I was enthralled to see the Alaska Basin that straddles Idaho and Montana and winds through Beaverhead National Forest and Targhee National Forest.
I was thrilled to spot this male Black-headed Grosbeak foraging in this flowering shrub while I was in Montana last week.
Stay tuned ... For more images from my Montana trip, it was awesome.
It was a fascinating experience to see and photograph this Coyote locating and eating the egg and I'm tickled to have witnessed the Coyote's egg carrying behavior plus once again I am very glad to have been in the right place at the right time.
I hope the Pronghorn we do have continue to flourish because they are majestic creatures and the western landscape wouldn't be the same without them.
Last year at about this same time these Ospreys were busy building their nest while this year they were already sitting on eggs at Flaming Gorge.
Last week; while fighting off a bloodsucking cloud of no-see-ums, I was able to photograph this male Long-billed Curlew as it flew past me.
Royals Terns make amazing dive bombs for their prey which are usually small baitfish running close to the surface and sometimes if you are lucky you get to see them "Tern Over" in mid air.
For all the Moms out there, for the ones who are with us and those who have gone, Happy Mothers Day. We blossomed because of you.
I wanted to share a sampler of bird images that I have taken over the past week in Davis and Box Elder Counties.
Two days ago I spotted this Chukar on Antelope Island State Park on the edge of the road near the marina, the Chukar was at road level but just beyond the rock there is a slope that drops about 25 to 30 feet.
This is an adult Swainson's Hawk just after it lifted off from the barb wire on top of a fence on Antelope Island State Park a few days ago.
Midges are an important food source for the birds that live and breed in the marshes and wetlands of Utah and they have recently begun to hatch.
I've posted about Thinking Pink and Shades of Blue so today I thought I'd share some images about Goin' Green.
I wanted to share these images because today is Earth Day.
Great Horned Owls and Horned Larks are species of birds that have tufts that I photograph regularly here in Utah.
This time of the year I start dreaming about the Centennial Valley of Montana and of the birds that call the valley home during the summer.
I'm not sure why I wanted to do a post using images with pinks but here they are, a flower, a bird and pink kissed clouds.
I photographed this male Long-billed Curlew last week as he was starting to lift off.
From the plumage pattern, the bill, shape of the bird, colors and the bright red eye ring I was able to ID this fine feathered friend as the world's first Brown Cowbird x Painted Bunting hybrid ever!!
These Pronghorn images were taken a few years ago during the spring and I thought I would share them this morning partly because the yellow flowers in these images; Gray's Biscuitroot, have just started to bloom this year.
This Bison bull weighs in at about 1,500 pounds, he is wild and you don't want to tick him off like one man did on Antelope Island last weekend.
This Forster's Tern image was taken several years ago on Fort De Soto County Park's north beach while it was resting on the sand as another tern was flying towards us both.
I photographed this Lance-leaved Arrowhead at Roosevelt Wetland in Pinellas County, Florida several years ago.
Last week I spotted my first Burrowing Owl of the year, it was a distance away and I didn't take any images of it but I had to do a wiggle dance in my seat because I was excited seeing one again.
People are fascinated by owls, I know I am. It might be that owls have forward facing eyes like this Great Horned Owlet. Those eyes truly draw a person in.
Normally we have Western Meadowlarks year round here in the Salt Lake Valley but because this past winter was harsh it seemed that they moved south for a bit. They are back now and singing their songs of spring.
Several years ago while I was photographing at Fort De Soto's beautiful north beach I saw a Marbled Godwit flying in with a dark Tubeworm in its bill and took a few images of it from a distance.