Happy Holidays From Me To You
I woke this morning to several inches of fresh snow on the ground, our first heavy snowfall of the winter in the Salt Lake Valley arrived just in time for Christmas Day.
I woke this morning to several inches of fresh snow on the ground, our first heavy snowfall of the winter in the Salt Lake Valley arrived just in time for Christmas Day.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph the continuing male Belted Kingfisher with the snow-covered marsh in the background, a few times he even had prey.
The earth deserves better than we have given her, future generations deserve better than we are currently leaving them.
I am thankful for living as long as I have and for being able to live my life the way I want to and to be able to pursue my passion of bird, wildlife and nature photography.
I photographed this California Gull hovering over the Bear River with the snow covered Promontory Mountains in the back ground while it looked for prey in the open water below.
Well, it finally snowed in the Salt Lake Valley last night and when I woke there was a layer of snow on the grass outside my window.
I am so glad the American Bison were saved from extinction and that I see the Antelope Island State Park herd as often as I do.
We do see Herring Gulls in northern Utah during the winter and I was able to photograph this one as it circled over the water with the snow-covered Promontory Mountains and sky behind it.
There were at least 50 Ring-billed Gulls at Bear River MBR diving into the open water looking for fish that winter morning which gave me plenty of chances to photograph them.
Earlier this year in January I was able to photograph a Barn Owl in flight flying directly towards me with the snowy Promontory Mountains in the background while at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
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.
This American Goldfinch feeding upside down on seeds over the snow-covered field has always made me chuckle a bit because of the pose of the finch.
Last winter I photographed adult and juvenile White-crowned Sparrows in the snow in low light conditions and was pleased with the resulting photos.
When I photographed this bison bull grazing on a crisp January morning I recall how cold my hands and cheeks were and that I could hear the crunching sounds the bull made as he ate.
Temps were probably in the teens when I photographed this juvenile harrier in January of 2010 at Farmington Bay. Ahhh.
The long-awaited Scrub-Jay split has officially happened! Western Scrub-Jay can be crossed out in a our fields guides and the two new names California Scrub-Jay and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay can be penciled in.
Watching and photographing the Tundra Swans lifting off from Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday was slightly bittersweet for me because I know they will soon be heading north to mate.
At the end of January there was a nice, clear morning at Farmington Bay WMA and I spotted a juvenile female Northern Harrier in a field of snow next to the road who was a cooperative subject.
I am always grateful to see Barn Owls in winter and to be able to photograph them in sweet light is a delight.
I did spot a juvenile Northern Harrier in the fog resting on a clump of vegetation in the snow covered field on the east side of the road and took a few images of it.
I had to share at least one image of this Mountain Cottontail on Antelope Island State Park that showed its little, fluffy white tail, after all that is where they get part of their name.
The first bird I raised my lens for yesterday was this Black-billed Magpie in a snowstorm near the visitor center.
I spent a little bit of time yesterday morning photographing a few birds including this Northern Harrier in flight over Farmington Bay WMA.
A couple Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays in Ophir Canyon Road in Tooele County were the most cooperative of the jays that I found.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a winter wonderland right now and although it is very quiet it is still teeming with life.
It isn't unusual to see birds like this frost covered juvenile Northern Harrier at Farmington Bay WMA, Utah early in the morning before the sun rises and warms them up.
Just a simple image today of a resting Mountain Cottontail on a snow drift taken on Antelope Island State Park near the park headquarters.
I photographed this frosty Mule Deer buck in snow on Antelope Island State Park in December of 2013 while he was following a few does through a field of snow-covered mullein.
I photographed this Ring-billed Gull in flight at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on New Year's Day on the west side of the auto tour loop.
One year ago today I found, pointed out and photographed a Coyote and Black-billed Magpies scavenging a deer carcass to survive on Antelope Island State Park.