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Photographing Autumn Townsend’s Solitaires

By |October 9th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Townsend's Solitaires, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last Friday as I looked for birds in a few West Desert canyons I was serenaded by the songs and calls of Townsend's Solitaires and while I loved hearing them it was frustrating because they were either too far away or hidden from my view.

Photographing A Cooperative Immature Cooper’s Hawk

By |October 1st, 2019|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I couldn't have asked for a better birdy subject yesterday morning than this relaxed and cooperative immature Cooper's Hawk and I loved the setting it was in too.

Photographing White-crowned Sparrows At Farmington Bay

By |September 30th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When autumn arrives White-crowned Sparrows are one of the sparrow species that I look forward to photographing at Farmington Bay WMA each year as they move down to lower elevations.

Lesser Goldfinch Perched on Greasewood At Farmington Bay WMA

By |September 29th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Lesser Goldfinches, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Until three days ago I really haven't taken any decent images of Lesser Goldfinches that weren't at bird feeders but that changed when this one landed on a greasewood in front of me at Farmington Bay WMA.

Fall Yellow-rumped Warbler In My Viewfinder

By |September 20th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

For a few brief moments yesterday morning I had a lovely Yellow-rumped Warbler in my viewfinder at Farmington Bay that had perched in a leafy tree and I took full advantage of it being nearby.

West Desert Views While Looking For Birds

By |September 19th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I like to share some of the views I see while I am out wandering to look for birds because the scenery and different habitats I see at times are simply spectacular.

Ferruginous Hawk Lightening Its Load Before Lift Off

By |September 17th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, weather, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I don't see nearly as many Ferruginous Hawks as I would like to so I am always glad when I have one in my viewfinder that I can photograph even if it is taking a dump.

Douglas Firs – Bird Food Grown, Stored And Served in Handy Cones

By |September 15th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Daggett County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Pine Siskins, Red Crossbills, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Trees, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The cones of Douglas Firs provide food for birds and mammals and the trees provide shelter and nesting areas too. I've been paying attention to the Douglas Firs we have here for several years because of the birds I know I can find eating the seeds of the trees from their cones.

Immature Swainson’s Hawk, Golden Light And Common Sunflowers

By |September 6th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Swainson's Hawks, Utah, Wildflowers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago I was able to photograph an immature Swainson's Hawk in golden light perched on a fence post that was surrounded by bright yellow common sunflowers. Yes, I was blissed out.

Rare Brown Pelican At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By |September 5th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Rarities, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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.

Adult White-crowned Sparrow In Rabbitbrush – Small in The Frame

By |September 4th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Sometimes the colors of in a photo I have taken are what pleases me and draws me in even if my subject is small in the frame, in this case my subject was an adult White-crowned Sparrow.

Immature Northern Flicker In The Wasatch Mountains

By |August 24th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Northern Flickers, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This immature Northern Flicker was one of the last birds I spotted and photographed three days ago while up in the Wasatch Mountains and I was happy that she stayed long enough for me to take a nice series of images of her.

Calling Black-capped Chickadee Perched In The Open

By |August 23rd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Black-capped Chickadees, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago this Black-capped Chickadee and several other others were moving through a willow thicket in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains where I had been focusing on photographing warblers, tanagers, and vireos.

Juvenile Dark-eyed Junco High In The Uinta Mountains

By |August 18th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Dark-eyed Juncos, High Uintas, Mirror Lake Highway, Summit County, Uinta National Forest, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was in the high Uinta Mountains near Washington Lake when I spotted this young Dark-eyed Junco and I was able to take a few images of it before it flew away.

Photographing Some Of The Birds I Love In The Wasatch Mountains

By |August 16th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Black-capped Chickadees, Cedar Waxwings, Great Blue Herons, MacGillivray's Warblers, Morgan County, Summit County, Utah, Warbling Vireos, Wasatch Mountains, Western Tanagers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As a bird photographer I'm feeling a sense of urgency now that I didn't feel a few weeks ago because as I watch the migrants in the Wasatch Mountains getting ready for their long journeys I know that my time for photographing them this year is quickly running out.

Molting American Goldfinch Feasting On Musk Thistle Seeds

By |August 14th, 2019|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One year ago today I went up into the Wasatch Mountains and for about three minutes I photographed a molting American Goldfinch feasting on Musk Thistle seeds.

Poof: Utah’s Merlins Could Disappear

By |August 13th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Beaverhead County, Birds, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Conservation, Environment, Merlins, Montana, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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.

Immature Black-billed Magpies Flocking In The Wasatch Mountains

By |August 9th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was delighted to photograph the few immature Black-billed Magpies that were close to me and to observe those who were further away foraging and chasing each other around in a field dotted with wildflowers, grasses and sage.

Juvenile Song Sparrow Perched In A Thicket

By |July 28th, 2019|Categories: Morgan County, Song Sparrows, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

The light wasn't great when I took this image of a juvenile Song Sparrow perched in a thicket last year but these little ones don't seem to spend a lot of time in the open right after they fledge so I was happy with the photo.

I Finally Photographed The Crown Of An Orange-crowned Warbler

By |July 22nd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Orange-crowned Warblers, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I could wish that the Orange-crowned Warbler didn't look as messy as it does but I am just so glad to have taken even one image where the orange crown is visible that I would toot a horn if I owned one.

Molting Black-capped Chickadee

By |July 18th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Black-capped Chickadees, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This Black-capped Chickadee's plumage isn't in prime condition but I feel like my work as a bird photographer includes taking images of them looking great and not so great because it is all part of the cycle of their lives.

Male Belted Kingfisher Surveying His Mountain Canyon Home

By |July 16th, 2019|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Back in early June I had the opportunity to photograph a male Belted Kingfisher up close high in the Wasatch Mountains but due to circumstances beyond my control I missed those shots.

Messy Looking Orange-crowned Warbler Foraging In Willows

By |July 15th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Orange-crowned Warblers, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I've been looking for Orange-crowned Warblers in the Wasatch Mountains to get better images of them this year and so far my best chance has been with this messy looking one I saw and photographed yesterday.

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