The American Kestrel had just finished devouring a small bird of some sort, I really couldn't tell what it was because there were only a few small feathers left by the time I spotted the tiny falcon and when we stopped to photographer her.
Simple things in nature delight me so being able to photograph this juvenile White-crowned Sparrow on a wild rose did just that, it delighted me.
For several years now I have been observing and photographing a mated pair of Red-tailed Hawks in the Centennial Valley of southwestern Montana that have a favorite perch that I often see them on.
This past September I spotted an adult Red-tailed Hawk perched high on a rocky canyon wall as it looked out over the cold waters of Elk Lake in Beaverhead County, Montana.
In the meantime I am Limpkin along.
Rough-legged Hawks are on their way south from their Arctic breeding grounds and will soon be making their appearance here in Utah.
A bald red head, dark plumage and a white tipped bill isn't something that most people think of as handsome, regal or even good looking but Turkey Vultures are awesome at what they do.
Yesterday was frustrating for me near Snowville, Utah because there were raptors all around but not many of them were close enough to photograph and the ones that were close were either vey skittish or wouldn't fly off of the power poles even after long periods of time.
In the Centennial Valley of Montana at this time of the year I see plenty of White-crowned Sparrows of the interior west sub-species and although most of them that I see are juveniles there are also adults hanging around foraging too.
Since my first visit to the Centennial Valley of Montana on June 18, 2010 I have wanted to photograph a bird; preferably a raptor, on the reddish orange lichen covered rocks found throughout the valley. On this last trip that finally happened!
There are five recognized subspecies of Red-shouldered Hawks with the Florida Red-shouldered Hawks having the palest heads and plumage. I believe this Red-shouldered Hawk adult is from the Florida race, Buteo lineatus extimus.
This image of a Tricolored Heron perched in White Mangroves happens to be the first photo that I had taken of a this species that I was very happy with.
Eastern Kingbirds; like their western counterpart, are fearless and will attack birds as large as Bald Eagles to defend their nests.
Yesterday I went back to the island to see if I could photograph more hummingbirds and they did not disappoint so I thought I would share two more images of them.
I believe these are Calliope Hummingbirds but if I am wrong please do not hesitate to correct me, I don't get upset about things like that.
One December morning in 2008 I was sitting in the sand at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in Florida when a Great Blue Heron came up and perched on a driftwood stump that had washed up onto the shore.
One morning in 2008 I photographed this Green Heron at Sawgrass Lake Park in Pinellas County, Florida as it perched and preened on broken branch that was laying in the water.
I don't often have the opportunity to photograph juvenile Western Kingbirds but last week I did at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Box Elder County.
Red-tailed Hawks have the most variable plumages of North American hawks but Swainson's Hawks are also pretty variable, there are light morphs, intermediate morphs and dark morphs.
Last month and this month I wrote about Mountain Bluebirds in several posts that included images of adult males and females, today I am posting one image of the many fledglings I saw last week.
The Yellow Warbler in my image was singing along a creek lined with willows and although the bird is small in the frame I find this image appealing because of the simple lines, the bird's pose and the wonderful eye contact the bird gave me as it briefly looked towards me.
I readily admit that sometimes I daydream about being able to fly like a bird and quite often the bird I wish I were is a Red-tailed Hawk.
Last week while photographing in a canyon in the Stansbury Mountains in Tooele County, Utah I spotted this Turkey Vulture roosting in a dead tree in morning light.
It won't be long before these young Loggerhead Shrikes earn the name "Butcher Bird" by following their parents wing beats!
Two days ago I posted a portrait of a juvenile Loggerhead Shrike that I had photographed on Antelope Island State Park, today I am posting an image of an adult Loggerhead Shrike taken a day after I photographed the young shrike.
There are Sage Thrashers aplenty on Antelope Island State Park right now and they have been thrashing, dashing and singing their little hearts out the last three trips I have made out to the island.
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.
This male Tree Swallow was perched on a fence post in western Montana last week when I photographed him while the morning light lit him up beautifully.
I photographed this mated pair of Red-tailed Hawks last week in western Montana as they soaked up the warming rays of the morning sun.
I've just returned from spending six wonderful days photographing in western Montana, the weather was lovely, the scenery spectacular and the birds; as usual, were awesome including these two Swainson's Hawks.