Western Meadowlarks Of Spring
Meadowlarks have been arriving in good numbers for several weeks now but they’re quite difficult to approach in early spring. Once breeding behaviors begin in earnest they seem to be a little less skittish.
Category: Antelope Island
High-stepping, Far-falling Chukars
The roly-poly Chukar doesn’t look very athletic but they’re incredibly agile while maneuvering on the rocks they like to perch on this time of year.
Finally! – Another Cooperative Chukar
Yesterday morning I finally found another Chukar willing to pose for me – my first since late last year.
Black-billed Magpie – Paying The Price For An Ethical Stance
By definition there is often a price to be paid for ethical nature photography since the image you get may not be the one you envisioned or hoped for.
Coyote – Sometimes The Prey Bites Back
The Coyote And The Pesky Deer Fly
Coyotes really don’t like biting flies. In fact I believe I can safely say that they truly hate horse flies and deer flies in particular.
A Coyote, A Reflection And An Interpretive Error On My Part
Three months ago I posted some shots of a coyote intrigued by its own reflection in the Great Salt Lake. I rejected one photo I liked because of what I thought was a metal wire that ruined the image. I should have paid more attention…
A Tribute To The “Common Species”
Many bird photographers tend to largely ignore the most common species in their areas and I’m as guilty of that as anyone.
There seems to be a sort of “supply and demand” philosophy – the more common they are the less appealing they are as subjects. That’s too bad for at least a couple of reasons – familiar birds can be just as interesting and beautiful as many of the others and what’s “common” where we live and/or shoot is very often uncommon or even nonexistent for folks in other areas. This post is meant to make up to some degree for my own poor judgment at times in choosing subjects.
Western Meadowlark In The Snow
In northern Utah, anticipating how long our Western Meadowlarks will stick around during winter is always a guessing game.
Some Very Odd-looking Pheasants
Ring-necked Pheasants are relatively common in my area and I normally see very little variation in plumage color in them – males look like males, females look like females and that’s about it. But twice I’ve photographed some very strange-looking birds.
The Menacing Talons Of A Prairie Falcon
The formidable talons of the larger falcons always impress me and this female Prairie Falcon gave me a good look at her scythe-like weapons. From the size of her hugely bulging crop it’s obvious that they serve her well.
Rough-legged Hawk – Topside View, With Prey
It’s pretty unusual to be able to see prey in the talons with a topside view of a hawk in flight.
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk Still Learning To Hunt
After yet another snowstorm all day yesterday I felt the need to post something this morning with absolutely nothing white in the background. This juvenile Red-tailed Hawk taking off after prey filled the bill.
Dark Morph Rough-legged Hawk
I’ve only had two reasonably good chances at the dark morph of the Rough-legged Hawk and one of them was a highly unexpected encounter two weeks ago.
Rough-legged Hawk Hunting Technique
Like some other buteos, depending on conditions the Rough-legged Hawk may hunt from the air using flapping/gliding flight or from an elevated perch but their tendency to hunt in flight goes up significantly with increasing wind speed. This makes sense because hovering in the wind requires less energy than flapping flight.
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High-stepping, Far-falling Chukars
The roly-poly Chukar doesn’t look very athletic but they’re incredibly agile while maneuvering on the rocks they like to perch on this time of year.
Finally! – Another Cooperative Chukar
Yesterday morning I finally found another Chukar willing to pose for me – my first since late last year.
Black-billed Magpie – Paying The Price For An Ethical Stance
By definition there is often a price to be paid for ethical nature photography since the image you get may not be the one you envisioned or hoped for.
Coyote – Sometimes The Prey Bites Back
The Coyote And The Pesky Deer Fly
Coyotes really don’t like biting flies. In fact I believe I can safely say that they truly hate horse flies and deer flies in particular.
A Coyote, A Reflection And An Interpretive Error On My Part
Three months ago I posted some shots of a coyote intrigued by its own reflection in the Great Salt Lake. I rejected one photo I liked because of what I thought was a metal wire that ruined the image. I should have paid more attention…
A Tribute To The “Common Species”
Many bird photographers tend to largely ignore the most common species in their areas and I’m as guilty of that as anyone.
There seems to be a sort of “supply and demand” philosophy – the more common they are the less appealing they are as subjects. That’s too bad for at least a couple of reasons – familiar birds can be just as interesting and beautiful as many of the others and what’s “common” where we live and/or shoot is very often uncommon or even nonexistent for folks in other areas. This post is meant to make up to some degree for my own poor judgment at times in choosing subjects.
Western Meadowlark In The Snow
In northern Utah, anticipating how long our Western Meadowlarks will stick around during winter is always a guessing game.
Some Very Odd-looking Pheasants
Ring-necked Pheasants are relatively common in my area and I normally see very little variation in plumage color in them – males look like males, females look like females and that’s about it. But twice I’ve photographed some very strange-looking birds.
The Menacing Talons Of A Prairie Falcon
The formidable talons of the larger falcons always impress me and this female Prairie Falcon gave me a good look at her scythe-like weapons. From the size of her hugely bulging crop it’s obvious that they serve her well.
Rough-legged Hawk – Topside View, With Prey
It’s pretty unusual to be able to see prey in the talons with a topside view of a hawk in flight.
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk Still Learning To Hunt
After yet another snowstorm all day yesterday I felt the need to post something this morning with absolutely nothing white in the background. This juvenile Red-tailed Hawk taking off after prey filled the bill.
Dark Morph Rough-legged Hawk
I’ve only had two reasonably good chances at the dark morph of the Rough-legged Hawk and one of them was a highly unexpected encounter two weeks ago.
Rough-legged Hawk Hunting Technique
Like some other buteos, depending on conditions the Rough-legged Hawk may hunt from the air using flapping/gliding flight or from an elevated perch but their tendency to hunt in flight goes up significantly with increasing wind speed. This makes sense because hovering in the wind requires less energy than flapping flight.