An Assortment Of Spring Birds From Bear River MBR
Today I wanted to share an assortment of spring birds all photographed at Bear River MBR yesterday on a bright and beautiful morning.
Male Red-breasted Merganser On A Snowy Day In Northern Utah
At first I thought the single Red-breasted Merganser was a female until I noticed the white patches of feathers behind its neck on its sides and then I realized that the merganser was a male because females do not typically have those white patches.
Red-breasted Mergansers in Utah
Near the auto tour route though I saw what appeared to be 250 to 300 Red-breasted Mergansers on the Bear River. I think it was the largest raft of Red-breasted Mergansers I have ever seen.
Red-breasted Mergansers Are Back In Utah
Red-breasted Mergansers do not breed in Utah, they breed much further north in Alaska, across northern Canada to New Newfoundland and the Great Lakes of Michigan but they do migrate through this area.
Red-breasted Merganser floating on the Gulf of Mexico
I photographed this Red-breasted Merganser floating on the Gulf of Mexico on an April morning from the shoreline at Fort De Soto, Florida in April of 2008.
Red-breasted Merganser Portrait
There has only been a few times that I have had the opportunity to get a Red-breasted Merganser portrait and each time it occurred in Florida.
Move a little – Red-breasted Merganser
Moving; even just a little bit, can change the background of an image even when the subject is stationary.
Red-breasted Merganser at rest on the Gulf shore
I've mentioned in another post that "Some Days are Magic" and I felt that magic the morning I created this image of a Red-breasted Merganser.
Feeding Habits of Red-breasted Mergansers
According to Birds of North America there are four foraging methods used by Red-breasted Mergansers which are Cooperative Herding, Individual Search, Shallow Diving and Deep Diving.
The Advantages of Photographing Birds Close to Home
Many beginning photographers dream of taking images in far off places of exotic birds and there is nothing wrong with that. But we shouldn’t overlook the advantages of photographing birds close to home.
Red-breasted Merganser on the Gulf of Mexico
Sometimes I find an image appealing because of the memories it wakes up and not so much from the technical or compositional aspects, this Red-breasted Merganser image is one that isn't perfect but it does awaken memories and stirs my senses.
Different Plumage Phases Of Red-breasted Merganser Drakes
Awhile back someone told me that Mergansers don't change their plumage seasonally, which is of course incorrect as all three species of mergansers that live in North America do.
Red-breasted Merganser – At 220mm
You don't always need to have long focal lengths to get close up images, this image was taken with a moderately priced Nikkor 70-300mm VR at only 220mm and it is practically full frame.
Red-breasted Merganser Lifting Off
The weather outside hasn't been good for bird photography today but since I am always behind on editing I thought I'd process this Red-breasted Merganser image that I took in Florida a few years ago.
Things are getting Ducky in Utah!
Another wonderful change that I have been seeing is that a variety of duck species have been arriving at the Great Salt Lake
Common and Red-breasted Mergansers
Mergansers are considered "diving ducks" and one of the things the three species of mergansers found in North America all have in common are their serrated bills.