Mallard Drake Portrait Salt Lake County, Utah
I was able to take a Mallard drake portrait of one of the ducks that were close and loved how this showed the blue green iridescence.
I was able to take a Mallard drake portrait of one of the ducks that were close and loved how this showed the blue green iridescence.
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.
It is interesting to see this whirlpool effect of Northern Shovelers on the surface of the Great Salt Lake and to hear the sounds of their bills dabbling in the water.
I think I am as excited as this Canada Goose calling in the snow that I photographed in February of 2013 along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park.
I photographed this Redhead hen yesterday morning at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge as she floated on the Bear River.
Canada Geese are very common here in northern Utah and in other parts of North America.
There has only been a few times that I have had the opportunity to get a Red-breasted Merganser portrait and each time it occurred in Florida.
Last December on the way off of Antelope Island I saw huge flocks of Northern Shovelers feeding on the Great Salt Lake and liked how they appeared through my viewfinder.
When I came across the Canvasback drake on a frigid February morning at a pond near where I live I simply had to get a few images of him.
I haven't posted any Common Mergansers lately and today I thought I would because we should start seeing them soon here in northern Utah.
We've still been having record breaking high temperatures here in northern Utah but the forecast shows some cooler weather is about to arrive. I'm glad. It is about time.
Last autumn I was able to get up close to a drake Greater Scaup at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I'm hoping that I see more of them this year.
I've been thinking about this upcoming winter wondering if we will get a normal amount of snow and of course about the birds I will see on cold mornings at Farmington Bay.
The Redheads at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge are getting closer to being in their breeding plumage which they normally show from October through June.
Yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was able to photograph a Mallard drake as it lifted off from the water on the south side of the auto tour loop.
Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed that Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is getting duckier. I am seeing more ducks in the water and flying over head now than I had in July.
Sometimes after a period of high activity I simply need to rest and relax or duck out into nature's wild grandeur to refresh.
Last week I posted some Tundra Swan images and mentioned that two of the swans I saw had markers on their necks, these are those swans flying together over the marsh.
This series of Ruddy Duck images took just a little less than 8 seconds and then she tucked her bill back under her scapular and closed her eyes again.
Last February; when there was actually snow on the ground, I photographed a pair of Redhead ducks at a pond near where I live.
I wasn't expecting much from the images but to my delight I liked the effect of the white Tundra Swans on the pure white snow.
It was chilly but bright yesterday morning and there were bluebird skies overhead and Antelope Island State Park beckoned and I of course heeded that call.
This Greater Scaup drake is making the transition into his breeding plumage an was in among American Coots, a resting female scaup, Pied-Billed Grebes and a single Canvasback.
Moving; even just a little bit, can change the background of an image even when the subject is stationary.
I've mentioned in another post that "Some Days are Magic" and I felt that magic the morning I created this image of a Red-breasted Merganser.
According to Birds of North America there are four foraging methods used by Red-breasted Mergansers which are Cooperative Herding, Individual Search, Shallow Diving and Deep Diving.
Officially it isn't spring yet but the Canada Geese here in the Salt Lake Valley don't seem to be paying much attention to our human calendars at all and have begun their mating season.
The sun came out for a few hours yesterday afternoon so I went to a pond near where I live and photographed some of the ducks including this very confiding Redhead drake.
Sometimes I find an image appealing because of the memories it wakes up and not so much from the technical or compositional aspects, this Red-breasted Merganser image is one that isn't perfect but it does awaken memories and stirs my senses.
Common Goldeneyes are diving sea ducks that over winter in the Salt Lake Valley where I see and photograph them at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park and at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.