Great Blue Herons Aren’t Really Blue – So What’s Up With Their Name?
The name "Great Blue Heron" has always seemed off to me because these large herons are much more gray than they are blue.
The name "Great Blue Heron" has always seemed off to me because these large herons are much more gray than they are blue.
It has been too long since I have had a Northern Harrier in my viewfinder although I'm now excited because I know that fall and winter are great seasons for me to find and photograph them.
Is one of these immature Great Blue Heron images more visually appealing than the other? That depends on the personal tastes of the person viewing them.
I can barely wait to hear and see my first of season Tundra Swans and to see them on the wing over the marshes that surround the Great Salt Lake.
I don't usually share photos where the main subject is facing away from me but I liked the alert pose of this raptor as it perched in the dead but distant juniper tree.
I had a great time photographing all of the sparrow species I saw two days ago and I could have stayed with them all morning long. I might do just that later this week.
The surprise for me was that the Warbling Vireo decided to perch out in the open with a fairly clean background and that it stayed there for almost a minute.
On August 10th I drove into the mountains for a quiet, relaxing morning and came away with quite a few bird photos I have yet to process.
I was "over the moon" excited when I spotted an adult male Nashville Warbler out in the open at the top of a willow yesterday while up in the Wasatch Mountains.
Throughout my life I have liked to think that every sunset has a promise and a gift from Nature in it. The promise that the sun will rise again in the morning.
Three days ago I saw lots of young birds in the Wasatch Mountains east of where I live in Salt Lake City and among them were several American Robin fledglings.
One of the birds I found that summer morning was a Great Egret perched on a stump that the waves of the Gulf had deposited on the shore of the beach.
I found these two foraging Greater Sage-Grouse high up on the Aquarius Plateau in Wayne County, Utah five years ago today.
These are the stories behind how I took these Red-breasted Nuthatch and Juniper Titmouse photos while relaxing and enjoying a lovely day in the West Desert.
These are the life stages of the Swainson's Hawks I see, observe and photograph here in Utah, Idaho and Montana.
I had my best opportunities to take close up photos of Killdeer that I have ever had and I took full advantage of each chance I had with them.
This isn't the kind of Short-eared Owl image you'll see in a bird guide but when you are looking for these owls in the field sometimes a view like this is all you will get.
If I can find a protective head net that actually works I might just venture back out onto the island after the no-see-ums come out because I miss photographing nesting Loggerhead Shrikes.
No matter how these Golden Eagle photos came to be I am happy to have photographed this magnificent bird on the wing.
The Great Blue Herons were hunkered down in the rushes with the warmth of the sunlight on them but they still looked cold.
Yesterday I was able to focus on this American Robin as it foraged in the branches of a crabapple tree and took a nice, long series of images of the handsome red-breasted thrush.
I wanted to take the time to wish my brother a Happy Birthday here on my blog and it seemed fitting to use this photo of a Barn Owl hunting in daylight that I took seven years ago today.
I could wish that there weren't any branches in front of the hawk but honestly it just felt good to not have something happen to ruin my opportunity to photograph this Rough-legged Hawk.
I know some people don't get excited about gulls but I do and I was thrilled two days ago at Bear River MBR when I spotted and photographed my first Herring Gulls of this winter season.
While this male American Kestrel struggled to maintain his grip on the thin branches of the Tamarisk I struggled to keep him in my viewfinder.
Yesterday morning I didn't press my DSLR's shutter button a single time while I was out in the field so I came home without a single photo of a bird or animal but I did come home with something else. Knowledge.
Wherever you are, whatever holidays you celebrate if you celebrate at all, I wish you joy, peace and hope that you will feel the love of your family and friends today and every day.
I was delighted when I spotted this female American Kestrel perched high on a crabapple tree next to a road near the Jordan River and pleased that she stuck around for a few photos.
Sometimes I wonder how birds get their names, especially the birds with "Common" in their names such as Common Mergansers.
With scores of pipits flying in, flying out and moving around on the rocks it was a challenge to decide which bird to have in my viewfinder.