I'm not exactly sure why this Coyote was wet but it had to have been from the water of the Great Salt Lake because the Coyote was along the causeway to Antelope Island, a couple miles from the park entrance and a couple to the island itself.
Early last week I thought that the Pronghorn bucks on Antelope Island State Park might be in rut, later in the week a buck's behavior confirmed that they are.
Male Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) are flashy birds but I believe the females have a subtle beauty too.
Three days ago things finally fell into place, a bull on a hill top, good light, eye contact and a clouds in the background.
I spot a North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) and all I have is low light. So what do I do?
I photographed this American Bison bull a few days ago on Antelope Island State Park as he was drinking from a freshwater puddle formed by rains over the weekend.
In Utah I don't often have the opportunity to see and photograph White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) because they have a very limited range here so I was thrilled to have the chance to photograph this doe close up as she fed between the gravel road and a barley field in Glacier County, Montana.
Some images strike my funny bone, this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk photograph sure has. This is but one of many captions that came to my mind after viewing it.
I look at this image and I see intelligence in the Coyote's eyes. I see a warm blooded creature who is doing what it needs to do to survive. I see a female who is nursing pups. I see beauty.
Every day that I spend in the field is always marvelous but it seems especially wonderful during the change of seasons because I feel a heightened sense of anticipation for the first of the year birds, the first spotting of wildflowers blooming or the seasonal changes that wildlife exhibits in behavior or appearance.
Farmers don't like Richardson's Ground Squirrels much, they dig holes that could break the legs on livestock and eat grains and the shoots of plants, I can understand those concerns. But I have to say... I love them, they are fun to watch and photograph.
It tickles me to be able to photograph wild Bison.
I'm always looking for great action or interesting poses when I am out photographing birds and usually I am not disappointed and once in awhile I get some very funny images. Mondays just seem like a great day for some humor.
There are times when photographs speak for themselves, they tell a story or show behavior and with my bird and wildlife photography they also show the natural cycle of life. These images may be gruesome for some to view but they show this falcon's natural behavior quite well.
Since moving to Utah in the summer of 2009 I have wanted to get some images of an American Bison standing with the Great Salt Lake in the background.
Burrowing Owls are beautiful birds with lemony yellow eyes, downy soft feathers and subtle coloration. It's hard to believe that they aren't that much different in size from an American Robin.
As 2011 comes to a close and 2012 is just hours away , I wanted to do one more blog post for the year.
White-crowned Sparrows can be seen foraging in the grasses, rabbitbrush and sagebrush that grow along the edge of the road.
Last week while out photographing I spotted a Prairie Falcon in the midst of a tussle with two Common Ravens in mid air. At times it seemed that the falcon was chasing the ravens and then the tables would turn and it appeared that the ravens were diving at the falcon.
I am not sure why but it seems that many bird photographers avoid taking images of gulls, most of the time when I've asked them why they don't take more photos of gulls I hear "I just don't like gulls".
To those hunters who recognized and respected the rarity of those beautiful and very uncommon birds, you have my respect and I am personally very grateful that you preferred to give these ducks a pass even though you knew that hunting them was legal.
I used to dream about getting images like this one of Pronghorns when all I had was a simple Point & Shoot camera and I could never get close enough to the pronghorns to achieve my dreams. Now I can.
Last month I spotted this Coyote in the golden light of dawn while it hunted in the grasses on Antelope Island State Park. With light so sweet, how could I resist?
I spent the rest of the trip in the San Rafael Swell area very carefully watching where I put my feet because I didn't want another Close Encounter of the Snake Kind!
This October 3rd I spotted this pronghorn for the third or fourth time in this past year only this time I had good light, the buck wasn't far away and because it is rut season he was only paying attention to the does and other bucks in the area.
I've only photographed Bighorn Sheep (Mountain Sheep some people call them) a few times and here they were, calmly foraging close to where I was! I was thrilled and excited.
This Friday's Photo is that of a Wilson's Plover, a species I very much enjoyed photographing while I lived in Florida.
A few days ago I had the opportunity to take images of California Gulls feeding on brine flies along shoreline of the Great Salt Lake next to the causeway to Antelope Island
Life is an adventure. I can't deny that, ever. There are times when there are bumps in the road, smooth sailing, or a multitude of mishaps that occur in a single journey.
There were high thin clouds and that worked in my favor to photograph these large white birds without blowing out the whites.