Adult Male Red-winged Blackbird Take Off
I took this photo of an adult male Red-winged Blackbird taking off this morning with the distant snow covered Promontory Mountains in the background.
I took this photo of an adult male Red-winged Blackbird taking off this morning with the distant snow covered Promontory Mountains in the background.
The longer I looked at the high key photos I took of this Ring-billed Gull in the snow the more I have enjoyed viewing them.
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.
It is still dark here in northern Utah but I can tell there is some fresh snow on the ground so I guess that makes this a white Christmas even if the white stuff melts before the sun comes up over the mountains.
I might have taken some wonderful photos of birds in nice light yesterday if I had only listened to my instincts and gone out to look for birds.
I was thrilled to have this big, white wading bird where I could take photos of it in what was on that day a winter wonderland.
I didn't see or photograph as many Rough-legged Hawks last winter as I have in previous years but I did have a close up, extraordinary experience with one who was expelling a pellet on a snowy, foggy day at Bear River MBR.
I've never been this close to a Rough-legged Hawk expelling a pellet before and it is likely that I will never be this fortunate again. This Rough-legged Hawk was my best bird for the day and I'm glad I stopped and waited for him to expel the pellet before moving on down the auto tour route.
On February 16th I woke to fresh snow on the ground and I knew I wanted to see if the American Robins were still feeding in the crabapple trees close to home.
This pair of Canada Geese were photographed last winter near the Jordan River close to where I live at the tail end of a storm similar to the storm occurring right now.
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.
Some of the Tundra Swan photos I took that day in near white out conditions were flat and unappealing to my eyes but some of them I really liked because of the white bird on white snow.
Four days ago I was able to photograph a Snowy Egret landing sequence that I liked because of the action of the bird, the setting and the lovely lighting I had at the time.
I enjoy viewing the image of the drake Redhead on the snowy January morning just as much as the drake Redhead photo on a clear February afternoon, they both show the ducks doing what ducks do no matter what the weather is doing.
Four years ago I photographed a Barn Owl in a winter white out at Farmington Bay WMA and I have to admit that photographing it was tough.
The birds and beasts on Antelope can survive the harsh winters here but as each years passes I wonder how they will be able to adapt to our changing climate. I can't help but be concerned.
By having the Barn Owls smaller in the frame in my photos I can share more visual information about where these beautiful owls live, hunt and thrive.
My best find of the day was my first of the year Swainson's Hawk about two thirds of the way down the island perched in some trees near a freshwater spring.
It was my photos of a Double-crested Cormorant and American Coot in the snow storm that touched me the most even though both birds are small in the frame.
The American Kestrel was perched on an arching wild rose branch with prey in his bill when I photographed him with snow covered ice and the Wasatch Mountains in the background
Further down the road I spotted a dark lump on the shoulder and my heart sank because I immediately realized that the lump was a deceased Golden Eagle.
I spent about 40 minutes photographing the gulls, ducks and geese in the snow storm here in northern Utah yesterday and had a lot of fun doing it.
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.
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.
Last winter I photographed adult and juvenile White-crowned Sparrows in the snow in low light conditions and was pleased with the resulting photos.
Temps were probably in the teens when I photographed this juvenile harrier in January of 2010 at Farmington Bay. Ahhh.
The first bird I raised my lens for yesterday was this Black-billed Magpie in a snowstorm near the visitor center.
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.