Red-breasted Nuthatch Just Hangin’ Out
Yesterday morning I often had more birds in front of me than I could aim my lens at. That hasn’t happened in a very long time..
Yesterday’s Kingfisher
There are very few bird photographers who don’t bellyache about the elusiveness of Belted Kingfishers and I’ve done more than my share of whining about it myself.
Northern Harrier In Flight Against A Softly Layered Background
Particularly with birds in flight our backgrounds can have a major impact on our images, one way or the other.
A Song Sparrow In The Golden Light Of Dawn
Despite a relatively minor flaw this shot from yesterday morning may become a favorite songbird photo of mine.
Red-tailed Hawk Perched, Taking Off And In Flight
Raptors have several behavioral quirks that bird photographers who lust after takeoff and flight shots should be very familiar with because they signal imminent takeoff. Yesterday morning near Farmington Bay WMA this immature Red-tailed Hawk knew all the choreographed moves and performed most of them on cue.
My First Rough-legged Hawk Of The Season
Recently I’ve seen several “roughies” at a distance but they were only tiny specks in my viewfinder or flying away from me. Finally, yesterday morning this adult male took pity on me.
Red-breasted Nuthatch – Your Choice Of Compositions
American Kestrel, White Gyrfalcon And The Legacy Of John James Audubon
A Colorful Wild Turkey Tom – Reporting Banded Birds
I believe this is the only banded Wild Turkey I’ve ever photographed. I can read some of the band numbers and make a pretty good guess at the others.
A Serendipitous Meeting With An Old Friend Yesterday Morning
Sorry folks, no birds today. This post is personal. Another apology for the quality of the following photos. I like to think I’m pretty skillful with a DSLR camera and big honkin’ lens but I’m a complete doofus with cell phones and it shows. I first met Brooke Williams back in the mid 1980’s when I worked with his wife Terry Tempest Williams at the Utah Museum of Natural History. The three of us became good friends in part because we shared a passion for wilderness and wild critters and appreciated the importance of education in spreading the word and the passion. And we just liked each other’s company. As the years passed both Terry and Brooke became acclaimed authors, educators and environmental activists, first moving to Castle Valley near Moab, Utah and now splitting their time between Castle Valley and Cambridge, Massachusetts where Terry teaches at Harvard. Brooke spent a significant portion of his conservation career with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and now teaches at Colby College in Maine. So for many years we mostly lost touch with each other. Then completely out of the blue in July of 2012 I ran into them again in the middle of the Montana wilderness where they, along with wilderness advocate and grizzly bear expert Doug Peacock and author and environmental activist Rick Bass, were involved in teaching graduate students for the University of Utah’s Environmental Humanities Institute. We had a joyous reunion on the porch of a rustic old cabin involving wine, lots of…