Photographing a Dynasty of Ruby-crowned Kinglets
Yesterday I saw so many Ruby-crowned Kinglets in northern Utah that it was impossible for me to keep up with them, I am certain I missed some excellent images because of that.
Yesterday I saw so many Ruby-crowned Kinglets in northern Utah that it was impossible for me to keep up with them, I am certain I missed some excellent images because of that.
Truthfully I had better luck with the moon and mountains than I did birds yesterday except for one handsome Ferruginous Hawk perched along the road near farm lands.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets are tiny little songbirds weighing in at a mere 0.23 ounces but what they lack in size they make up for in high-powered energy, they just don't sit still.
I never did get any decent shots of the Belted Kingfisher yesterday but I am glad to know he is back at the pond and that I should have more opportunities with him... if nothing gets in the way.
The Marsh Wrens at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge live there year round even through the heat of summer and our harsh winters they are there going about the business of living.
I think the Sagebrush Sparrows are beautiful, elegant birds and I want more photos of them than I have!
The Peregrine Falcon was quite content on its rusty, lofty perch and didn't do anything but turn its head to see what was going on down below it.
Yesterday morning I was able to photograph and adult Song Sparrow eating while perched at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge early in the morning.
This Western Meadowlark perched on a blooming Rabbitbrush the first September after I had moved to Utah and I was thrilled to take this photograph on Antelope Island State Park.
I've been hearing American Pipits on the wing for a while now and yesterday I was happy to photograph several pipits while they perched on some rocks in northern Utah.
Belted Kingfishers are year round residents in northern Utah but my best opportunities to photograph them at Farmington Bay WMA are during the winter.
Marsh Wrens are small, brown, secretive birds with dark caps, thin bills, whitish eyelines and bold black and white patterns on their backs that usually hold their tails in an upright position.
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 photographed this adult Red-tailed Hawk earlier this year in northern Utah as it perched on a lichen-covered rock surveying its world and thought I would share it today.
I was delighted to be able to photograph a Gray Catbird in a willow thicket yesterday up in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains.
Two days ago I had a few fleeting moments with an immature Black-chinned Hummingbird that flew in and landed close to me and I relished every second with it.
All summer long I have heard Willow Flycatchers up in some of the Wasatch Mountain Canyons but had been unable to capture quality images of them.
Rocky Mountain Bee Plants are blooming all over the Salt Lake Valley right now and those beautiful, spider-like flowers are attracting hummingbirds, moths, butterflies, bees and a host of insects.
I was delighted to photograph a lovely, little Dark-eyed Junco juvenile perched in a conifer near Washington Lake which is not too far from Trial Lake and the Mirror Lake Highway.
I saw my first juvenile Swainson's Hawk of the year last week and although it didn't give me any opportunities to take better images of it I was happy to see it perched on a power pole.
This juvenile Red-tailed Hawk may have looked like it was giving me the eye when I photographed it but it was actually looking for one of its parents to bring it some food.
Birds aren't always neat looking, feathers wear, birds molt and young birds transitioning from their juvenal plumage into adult plumage can look quite disheveled or messy.
This image kind of looks like I photographed a two-headed juvenile Western Kingbird but it is really an optical illusion.
I have my ears and my eyes to thank for finding the Yellow Warblers and their young foraging near a creek in a canyon.
There was a tribe of juvenile Black-billed Magpies on Antelope Island State Park yesterday down near White Rock Bay that were wandering around in the area near the Buffalo Point trailhead
While stopped at a gate at Red Rock lakes NWR a Tree Swallow flew in and landed on a fence post so close that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to focus on it but I had to try.
Some of the birds I see often while at the Lower Lake of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana are Savannah Sparrows and I love to photograph them there.
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.
While I looked around four days ago I saw this Bank Swallow resting on a fence that hangs over the Red Rock River and could not resist photographing it with the blue water below and behind it.
Red-tailed Hawks were my most photographed species yesterday morning in the Centennial Valley of southwestern Montana and I had fun with them.