Made It Through Christmas And I Am Just Ducky
Well, I made it through the Christmas part of the holidays this year in one piece and I am feeling just ducky.
Well, I made it through the Christmas part of the holidays this year in one piece and I am feeling just ducky.
My Winter Solstice was cloudy and gray. I wandered down to my local pond to take in my first day of winter views of the Wasatch Mountains plus a few birds.
While at one of my local ponds two days ago, the only birds I photographed were ducks. This Mallard hen floating on silky water caught my eyes.
Two days ago at one of my local ponds I was able to take only a few photos of a Hooded Merganser before it disappeared from my line of sight.
I was able to get outside in the bitter cold for about an hour yesterday and found myself focused on a female House Finch eating crabapples close to home.
On this day two years ago, I photographed this immature male Common Goldeneye with a catfish at the pond in my neighborhood. It was a chilly, wintry afternoon.
This morning I'm sharing photos of five bird species that I find on ice during the coldest months of the year in marsh and urban locations.
Yesterday, after I cleared the snow off of my Jeep for the first time, I drove down to my neighborhood pond in a December snow storm to enjoy the snow.
I was thrilled to have this female American Kestrel in my neighborhood and viewfinder after an overnight snow fell two days ago.
After I cleared the snow from my Jeep yesterday morning, I went out for a bit and took a few male House Finch photos as they feasted on crabapples.
While I was out walking yesterday, I stopped at a neighborhood pond and saw fresh Canada Goose tracks in the snow. I felt that I had to take photos of them.
The fog was so thick yesterday morning that I decided to stay near home and focus on urban birds. My first one of the day was an American Crow in a parking lot.
Yesterday I wrote that a mini-bike scared the birds at my local pond two days ago. This urban Ring-billed Gull didn't fly off. It stood its ground.
This week, while photographing birds at my neighborhood pond, I came upon an uncommon Canada Goose with a white forehead and an oddly shaped cheek patch.
This morning I am sharing three drake Redhead photos that I took at my local pond two evenings ago before the golden light of sunset had started to glow.
I spent about 45 minutes at my local pond yesterday afternoon and one of my favorite images from being there was this American Coot with a funky reflection.
On a recent walk around my local pond, I heard the call of a male Great-tailed Grackle. When I found it, I giggled out loud because of where it was perched.
This morning I am sharing a simple drake Mallard photo taken at my local pond. I liked this image because of the reflections of the duck, light pole and leaf.
After the hottest summer on record here in the Salt Lake Valley, I am looking forward to photographing Canada Geese on snowy days close to home.
I found my first of season Common Goldeneye near a stand of rushes while walking around a local pond after a light skiff of snow had fallen overnight.
Yesterday morning I had planned on walking along the Jordan River after the sun came up and when I saw that there was fresh snow on the ground I was even more excited.
I took this photo of a hen Canvasback preening her belly feathers at my local pond back in January of 2021 and thought I would share it this morning.
Yesterday morning I took a brief walk at my local pond and was thrilled to see a small flock of Redhead ducks resting together on the surface of the pond.
While walking along the Jordan River yesterday, I came upon a covey of about 25 California Quail. I was able to get close enough to photograph a few of them.
I took this low light Mallard drake photo yesterday while I walked along the Jordan River in the chill of the early morning.
Today I'm sharing a photo of a male Spotted Towhee that I captured yesterday while walking along the Jordan River in Salt Lake County early in the morning.
Until two days ago I had never gotten photos of a juvenile Green-tailed and young Spotted Towhee in the same frame so I was thrilled when I saw them fly in.
I took this Canada Goose portrait last week at my local pond before the weather decided to turn to crap and go from spring to winter and back to spring.
I am enjoying seeing the birds that have returned to breed in Utah including this American White Pelican I photographed in low light two days ago at a local pond.
Yesterday morning I had fun taking spring male Great-tailed Grackle portraits because these males were displaying and not paying attention to me or my camera.