Four days ago I had a particularly interesting morning on Antelope Island and thought readers might enjoy a chronological reporting of my experience. Some of these images are better than others but as a group these photos of varying quality document my 2 1/2 hour morning on that wonderful island.
By the time early summer rolls around the plumage of many Bald Eagles has taken a beating.
For such a large bird Western Grebes can really scoot over the water surface when the need arises.
For some, raptors and flowers may seem like an incongruous combination but I like the contradiction.
Two days ago this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was hunting from a sign post and everything seemed to be calm – to the point that I was enjoying the sunflowers in the setting and the irony of the sign it was perched on. That tranquility didn’t last long…
Generally the White-faced Ibis is non-aggressive as it feeds in large groups of its own kind. Even when they accidentally bump into each other there is usually no aggressive response. But there are exceptions…
Believe it or not it was at that moment that a Loggerhead Shrike with a chip on its shoulder swooped in out of nowhere to harass the hawk. Because I was ready for it I was able to get two shots with both birds in the frame. In this first one I don’t believe the hawk yet knows the shrike is there.
The Centennial Valley had one more surprise in store as we left for home last Thursday morning. Photographing birds and other wildlife along the 27 mile long dirt road while I’m pulling the camping trailer is always awkward but the road is typically deserted that time of day and we’ve come up with something special more than once on the way out.
This is a continuation of the events from yesterdays post where an American White Pelican had repeatedly tried to swallow a very large, headless carp but due to the size of the fish and persistent pressure from other pelicans the effort (and the fish) had been abandoned.
I photographed a variety of Sandhill Crane behaviors several weeks ago in Wayne County, Utah but among the most interesting was the aggressive displays of the males.
Springtime fights between male Chukars can be vicious affairs that sometimes leave the participants looking like they’ve stepped on a land mine.
The song of the meadowlark often stirs fond memories and thoughts of peaceful and melodious spring mornings. But for birds that song represents the tension of competition for territories and females – anything but tranquility.
Sometimes one can sit at a pond full of birds when there seems to be nothing going on. But if you pay close attention there’s often a host of little dramas playing out right under your nose.
Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.
