Last week while I was up in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains I spotted a female Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly nectaring on a Musk Thistle so I felt I had to take photos of she sipped the nectar of the flower.
Today I am keeping it short and sweet and sharing one photo of a male American Goldfinch perched on a dried Musk Thistle blossom plus a short video clip I took of him as he lifted off and flew away.
I'm going to ask for help later on today from bugguide.net with the identification of this fritillary butterfly. I don't normally have to ask for identification assistance but I need it for this other thing with wings.
A flash of yellow, black and white on a purple flower immediately drew my eyes to a male American Goldfinch feasting on the seeds of a Musk Thistle so I stopped, turned my Jeep off and proceeded to photograph the bird.
Showy Milkweeds are an important source of nectar for butterflies, especially Monarch Butterflies who not only use them as a nectar source but also use them for laying their eggs on and as a larval host.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph a male Horned Lark on Antelope Island State Park that included Redstem Filaree in the photos and I was delighted, that pop of bright color sure says "spring" to me.
A few nights ago I opened the door to check out the cloud cover and weather conditions before going to bed and for the first time since I moved to Utah I heard a flock of calling Killdeer flying past in the pitch black night.
Streambank Globemallow has a few common names including Wild Hollyhock, Mountain Hollyhock, Mountain Globemallow and Streambank Wild Hollyhock
The Long-billed Curlews on Antelope Island are fascinating subjects to photograph and observe or anywhere for that matter.
I can't help but think of the birds I will see later in the year like this Rufous Hummingbird I photographed last August on Antelope Island State Park.
Yesterday the light wasn't great in the morning but I did get out to take some images an Antelope Island and there were plenty of pollinators out and about.
Two days ago I was able to photograph a Willet on Antelope Island calling from some rocks and foraging in the grasses and blooming Redstem Filaree.
The opposite of cold, gray, windy and rainy is summertime in my mind so I thought that today I would post some thing from a warmer, brighter and calmer day and what could be more summery than a Black-chinned Hummingbird feeding on Rocky Mountain Bee Plant?
Well, I made it through another week. Bird photography has been slow down here in the valley but there are signs migration is picking up. There was a decided nip to the air yesterday morning and I saw some frost on the ground while heading towards Antelope Island.
After looking at these images that I took last Friday I am wondering if this hummingbird that I photographed is a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird.
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.
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.
Yesterday I was lucky enough to find and point out this springtime Raven perched in front of a field of pink Filaree, a wildflower from the Geranium family.
This is part 2 of my three part series on Wild and Wonderful Antelope Island State Park and it covers some of the wildlife that can be found howling, grazing, buzzing and posing for my camera.