Rough-legged Hawk, Lichens and Snow
When I photographed this Rough-legged Hawk on a snow and lichen covered rock the light was decent and brought out the colors of the hawk and the orange lichen covering the rocky outcropping it was perched on.
When I photographed this Rough-legged Hawk on a snow and lichen covered rock the light was decent and brought out the colors of the hawk and the orange lichen covering the rocky outcropping it was perched on.
Without science you would not see this Short-eared Owl chick photo. You are here viewing it through a device using an internet connection to connect to a page housed on a server.
Many of the birds here in the Salt Lake Valley find a place to roost in the evening and overnight frost begins to accumulate on their feathers like it did on this Rough-legged Hawk on a parking sign.
I think this Rough-legged Hawk has read one too many hysterical Tweets lately. I know I have.
As I focused on the Great Blue Heron I could tell it was an immature bird braving its first winter alone in the marshes of Farmington Bay.
This first year Red-tailed Hawk close up in the snow storm was a reminder of how much our birds and wildlife have to struggle to get through the harsh winter.
Two days ago I was surprised by being able to photograph a Common Merganser hunting close to the shoreline of a nearby pond in Salt Lake County.
The bird that started my day was an immature Prairie Falcon at sunrise next to the Great Salt Lake and as the sun started to rise the falcon seemed to glow.
The Great Blue Herons here in Utah are dealing with ice, snow and bitter cold temperatures now but the Great Blue Herons in Florida they have started courting and building their nests.
There are natural perches along the access roads right next to the interstate and if I am lucky I can find raptors perched there on occasion too.
Last month I captured a series of images of an immature Pied-billed Grebe running across the water with prey in its bill at Farmington Bay WMA.
This time of the year I start looking for Peregrine Falcons to show up near the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake because of the high numbers of ducks that are usually there.
To the untrained eye American Bitterns and Black-crowned Night Herons can be confused so I thought I'd visually compare the two species with other keys to aid in their identification.
Yesterday I found a trio of young Raccoons at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and was able to take a series of images of them from inside my Jeep as they cautiously checked me out.
It was wonderful to be close to the juvenile Brown Pelican and to be able to take portraits of it plus I also enjoyed being able to see all the fine details of its plumage, the texture of its bill and look into its dark eyes.
I miss these young Short-eared Owls but I hope they are doing well and will return next year to breed and have young of their own.
I was able to take several images of this hungry Western Grebe chick begging to be fed and laughed out loud when I saw this funny face through my view finder.
The sound you hear in the video is just one Western Grebe chick begging to be fed and it was loud even over the wind!
Yesterday I had an immature Sage Thrasher get so close to me that I was able to take portraits of it as it perched out in the open.
Killdeer chicks are precocial and active soon after hatching and will leave the nest as soon as their down dries.
I was also delighted to photograph this juvenile Mountain Bluebird on the way to Gravelly Range early in the morning.
When I took this image the juvenile Loggerhead Shrike was perched on a dead twig when the robber fly flew into the frame, the shrike took off after the fly and caught it in mid air.
Finding Red-naped Sapsuckers feeding chicks at a nesting cavity in the Uintas made my day!
In this photograph the trio of Red Fox kits were close together outside of the den and I liked how they appeared to be waiting for something.
Seeing this Pronghorn doe with her fawn three mornings ago brought joy to me and photographing the fawn while it nursed and ran around getting the feel of its long legs made me happy.
While I have been photographing Short-eared Owls in northern Utah I have come across this intriguing and very tame Northern Harrier over and over in the same location.
This portrait of a Great Horned Owl chick in a hay barn might not have been taken in the most aesthetically pleasing location but I don't think the owlet gives a hoot about the rusty iron beams and corrugated metal walls.
I photographed this juvenile Burrowing Owl balancing act last year in northern Utah not long after the sun came up
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a great location to consistently see back-brooding Western Grebes during the breeding season and it can be done easily from the auto tour loop.
Last August I was a bit surprised to see a House Wren at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge from the auto tour loop around the marshes there.