Chukars on a cold winter morning
It is almost hard to believe that in just two months these Chukars will be fighting for territories as they begin the mating season while there is over 9 inches of fresh snow on the ground where I live this morning.
Changes to On The Wing Photography
Because of image theft I have made some changes to my blog, one of the first that will be noticed by people who have subscribed to my blog is that I will only be using a summary for my published posts from now on.
The ID of the female duck is…
The answer to the ID quiz is a female Green-winged Teal! Out of 49 people taking the quiz there were 6 votes for Mallard, 8 votes for Blue-winged Teal, 9 votes for Gadwall and 26 votes for Green-winged Teal.
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron – A Winter Treat
I've mentioned before that Great Blue Herons stay in the Salt Lake Valley over winter even though the temperatures get very cold and so do some of the Black-crowned Night Herons.
American Coots on a cold winter day
Looking at the huge lobed feet of American Coots is enough to make me laugh. Yesterday I just could not resist these birds.
Coyote on a snowy morning
The weather forecast for yesterday was "mostly sunny" and once again the weather forecasters were wrong, at least for the period of time I was out photographing on Antelope Island State Park.
Chukar images – 4 hits – 1 miss
Yesterday I spotted a covey of Chukars on Antelope Island foraging in the snow, this Chukar was pulling guard duty and standing on top of a snow covered rock and for a bit it was calling.
600th post – An Antelope Island Snow Day
I wanted to share a few images taken two days ago when Antelope Island was covered with a fresh snow fall. The entire island looked glorious and the sunlight caused the snow to sparkle much to my delight.
Common Raven in the snow – An exposure problem
Photographing dark birds such as this Common Raven is a challenge and knowing how to expose properly as well as getting the right angle of light is critical in producing a quality image.
Chukar in fresh fallen snow
Fresh snow fell on Antelope Island last night and it made for wonderful settings for the subjects I photographed this morning like this Chukar. I haven't been seeing the Chukars regularly lately so I was very pleased to see them again.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge – Christmas Day 2012
Christmas Day of 2012 turned out to be as beautiful as I hoped at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge because of bright skies, snow on the ground, birds and the expansive views.
Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow in a snow storm
The White-crowned Sparrow in this image is small in the frame, the bird isn't super sharp and there isn't a lot of contrast or color to the photo either yet the image speaks to me.
Male Ring-necked Pheasant in marsh habitat
Ring-necked Pheasants are colorful upland game birds that are native to Asia and were introduced into North America for recreational hunting purposes and now occur widespread across southern Canada and in many areas of the U.S. except for some of the southern states.
Coyote in the snow
While looking for birds to photograph I spotted a pair of Coyotes hunting and roaming through the snow-covered landscape together.
Loggerhead Shrike in Winter
This Loggerhead Shrike was one of the few birds I photographed yesterday on Antelope Island before the Prairie Falcon with a Northern Shoveler as prey that I posted yesterday.
American Bison in the Snow
We've gotten a lot of snow in the Salt Lake Valley since Friday, I swept at least a foot of snow off my vehicle yesterday and about 3 to 4 inches on Friday, as I write this the snow is still falling.
Chukar in the snow
A simple image from a series of images I took last year of a Chukar calling on a rocky outcropping with a snowy mountain in the background.
Winter’s First Snow
As I write this the first snow of winter is falling outside my living room window. For the past week I have seen the snow on the mountain tops and I had been looking forward to seeing the snow covering the Salt Lake Valley.
A Cool Mountain View
The temps are up all over the U.S. and almost everyone is feeling the heat, I know I am.
Summer Heat and Winter Cold
I decided to post an image that said... cold, snow and winter. Just looking at it seems to cool me down.
Black-billed Magpies ~ It is Nesting Time!
This is the third consecutive year that I have photographed Black-billed Magpies working on their nest in this same location on Antelope Island.
Northern Harrier
This Northern Harrier displayed interesting behavior, it didn't appear to be hunting but it would dive into the vegetation where it would make a sound that reminded me of parrots chattering.
American Kestrel Male
The American Kestrel is our smallest falcon in North America but what they lack in size I feel they make up for in attitude.
Northern Harrier in Low Light
I don't mind the motion blur in these images and because northern harriers hunt by looking down at the ground for their prey I was very happy to get eye contact in both frames.
Spring VS Old Man Winter
Old Man Winter is still fighting to retain his icy grip on Utah and doesn't seem to want to to surrender the battle with Spring
Black-billed Magpie building a nest after a snow
I felt that I had a real treat being able to photograph this Black-billed Magpie building a nest after a snow.
Chukar calling in the snow
I was tickled to get this Chukar calling in the snow near the parking area of Frary Peak trailhead with the snow-covered mountain in the background.
Snow, Bison Plus Chukars on Antelope Island State Park
When I first visited Antelope Island State Park I fell in love with its wild beauty, the windswept grasslands, pungent sagebrush, awesome views of the Great Salt Lake and the wildlife that abounds there.
An amazing encounter…or two with a young Bald Eagle
I've found Bald Eagles difficult to approach most of the time which is why a long lens is often needed. But not this one year old bald eagle.
Western Meadowlark on a cold Utah Morning
Not too long after I had gotten to my location I spotted a Western Meadowlark hunkered down on a rock trying to warm up with the rays of the rising sun.