wetlands

Peek-a-boo Rough-legged Hawk At Farmington Bay WMA

By |November 27th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Hawks, Eagles, Ospreys and Vultures, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Why did it make me laugh and smile? Because it looks like the Rough-legged Hawk might have been playing peek-a-boo as it looked towards me through its wingtips.

My First Plus My Most Recent American Pipit Photos

By |November 15th, 2018|Categories: American Pipits, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I enjoy these tail-bobbing American Pipits every bit as much today as I did the morning I first saw them near Goose Egg Island at Farmington Bay but since I moved to Utah I can see and photograph them more often.

Foraging White-faced Ibis With Frost On Its Tail

By |November 12th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Wading Birds, White-faced Ibises|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It isn't too late to see and photograph White-faced Ibis at Farmington Bay WMA in northern Utah because there are still a few of them hanging around despite the frigid temps during the nights and mornings.

Greater Yellowlegs In Utah During Late Fall and Winter? It’s Not Unusual

By |November 5th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Greater Yellowlegs, Shorebirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I've been seeing lots of Greater Yellowlegs recently at Farmington Bay WMA here in northern Utah and that might seem unusual because signs of winter have already shown but it really isn't that unusual at all for this species of shorebirds.

Male Brewer’s Blackbird On A Fence Post With Fall Colors

By |November 1st, 2018|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago I had a male Brewer's Blackbird in my viewfinder near Glover Pond in Davis County, I photographed him as he perched on a fence post with fall colors in the background.

Male American Kestrel Turning In Flight – Small In The Frame

By |October 30th, 2018|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While I would have enjoyed having this male American Kestrel closer to me as it turned in flight than it was yesterday morning I found that I liked this frame with the tiny falcon turning in flight being small in the frame too.

Autumn Male Brewer’s Blackbird shaking after preening

By |October 18th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A male Brewer's Blackbird had been preening on a fence post when he started to shake his feathers and that action sure showed his iridescent plumage off nicely.

Great Blue Heron With Some White Feathers In Its Dark Crown

By |October 10th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Leucistic, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The unusually colored feathers of this Great Blue Heron that I photographed on September 24th of this year caught my eyes because it has some white feathers in its crown where normally all the feathers are dark black.

Snowy Egret Landing Sequence Plus Two Bonus Photos

By |September 29th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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.

Snowy Egrets in Flight On A September Morning

By |September 25th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has been a while since I photographed Snowy Egrets so having them in my viewfinder yesterday morning was a real treat especially since they will be migrating soon and I will go the winter without seeing them.

Immature Yellow Warbler Foraging in a Cocklebur at Bear River MBR

By |August 21st, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Yellow Warblers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

This spring and summer I have photographed Yellow Warblers primarily in mountainous riparian habitat so when I spotted one foraging in a Rough Cocklebur two days ago in the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was happy to take photos of it.

Greater Yellowlegs Landing & Lifting Off At Bear River MBR

By |August 20th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Greater Yellowlegs, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Because of the avocet's determination to chase off this Greater Yellowlegs I was able to photograph it lifting off from the water with water still dripping from its feet and with the shorebird's head framed by its wings.

Stormy Sky With A Great Blue Heron In Flight Over Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By |August 4th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Two years ago when I photographed this stormy sky with a Great Blue Heron in flight I also photographed loads of other birds from the auto tour route including wading and shorebirds, geese, ducks, ibis, terns, gulls, rails, pelicans and coots.

Snowy Plovers – Photographed in the West and East

By |July 4th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Snowy Plovers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is always nice to be able to point out a lifer bird to someone else and that is what I did on June 25th after I spotted a tiny Snowy Plover at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge foraging in the mud.

Male Great-tailed Grackle in Low Light Plus Battery Issues

By |May 24th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great-tailed Grackles, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Even though the light yesterday morning wasn't optimal for bird photography I took my Mom to the Farmington Bay WMA area to show her around there, we only made it as far as Glover Pond though.

Mating Killdeer at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By |May 23rd, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Killdeer, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week when I took my Mom to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge we were fortunate to see and photograph Killdeer mating while on the auto tour route.

White-faced Ibis – Birds Of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By |April 24th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-faced Ibises|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

White-faced Ibis are abundant at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge during their breeding season and they can be easily seen from the 12 mile, self-guided auto tour route feeding in the water impoundments or flying in loose flocks overhead.

Snowy Egrets Have Migrated Back To Northern Utah

By |April 14th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I lived in Florida I saw Snowy Egrets year round and that kind of spoiled me but here in Utah they leave for the winter and come back to the marshes and wetlands surrounding the Great Salt Lake for their breeding season.

Calling Pied-billed Grebe – It Is Breeding Season For These Grebes

By |March 21st, 2018|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Pied-billed Grebes, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago I noticed one Pied-billed Grebe carrying vegetation in its bill which I presume it was gathering to build its floating nest at a small pond at Farmington Bay WMA and later on I heard the call of a Pied-billed Grebe, located the grebe and photographed it as it called.

Farmington Bay Ring-billed Gull Immediately After Bathing

By |February 17th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As much as I like the first photo where the Ring-billed Gull has its wings spread and its feet still in the water I like the second photo even more because of the action and how the bird is suspended over the water.

Photographing a Pair of Tundra Swans in Flight

By |February 14th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As I photographed this pair of Tundra Swans in flight I could hear the whir of their wings and the calls of the other swans that were still on the water and also getting ready to lift off.

American Crows at Farmington Bay WMA

By |February 12th, 2018|Categories: American Crows, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday the American Crows hung around with the Bald Eagles, Herring, California and Ring-billed Gulls to feast on those invasive fish which gave me an opportunity to photograph this one standing on a dead carp.

Photographing the Tundra Swans of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By |February 4th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had a blast photographing the Tundra Swans at the refuge yesterday and for the first time in a while I forgot about practically everything but the birds in front of me and the peace I find at the refuge.

American Goldfinch in Winter Plumage

By |January 27th, 2018|Categories: American Goldfinches, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I photographed a couple of American Goldfinches that morning too, as usual I heard the finches well before I spotted them foraging in some vegetation next to the auto tour route.

Two American Bitterns – My Best Finds of the Day

By |January 18th, 2018|Categories: American Bitterns, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

My best finds of the day yesterday morning were two American Bitterns on the riverbank of the Bear River at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, birds I do not normally see in January here in northern Utah.

What To Do When A Snowy Egret Flyby Is Too Close – Keep Firing

By |January 17th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

So what did I do? I kept firing as the Snowy Egret flew past me keeping my focus on the eye of the bird and that is when I took this photograph of the egret in flight.

Male American Kestrel On A Sign Post With His Prey

By |January 3rd, 2018|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I've found American Kestrels to be "stickier" in cold weather and it wasn't much above 20°F when I photographed him as he consumed the vole bit by bit.

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