Peek-a-boo Rough-legged Hawk At Farmington Bay WMA
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.
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.
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.
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.
It isn't often that my best photo of the day is a simple cell phone snap but that is kind of what happened yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Two days ago at Glover Pond there were several Eight-spotted Skimmer dragonflies that I aimed my lens at and of those I liked this head on shot the most.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
My friends Amy and Bruce Barker saw a Western Grebe at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge a few days ago and that has gotten me excited, I always miss the grebes during the winter.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.