Feathered Photography

Nest-building Western Kingbird

Yesterday morning we photographed an industrious female Western Kingbird as she worked at constructing her nest. In this species the sexes are similar but only the female builds the nest. The male hung around nearby as he watched over the laborious construction process and offered his mate encouragement (that was good of him don’t you think?).

Male Harrier Hunting In A Quartering Wind

The eight minutes I spent photographing this male Northern Harrier in flight were both exhilarating and frustrating to the extreme.

Bald Eagle In Montana’s Centennial Valley

I often photograph Bald Eagles in Utah during winter but for me those images have a different mood (for lack of a better word) because they’re often taken near urban environments and for me they don’t convey the feeling of wildness that I so love about the Centennial Valley. And I very seldom get anything “green” in my Utah Bald Eagle images taken in winter.

My Four (and a half) “Lifers” In Eight Days

At this point in my photography “career” it’s unusual for me to get a new lifer but lately I’ve been on a roll.

Two Recent Swainson’s Hawks

So far this year Swainson’s Hawk populations seem to be a little spotty. I’m finding them in normal concentrations in some areas but in others where there’s been good numbers of them in the past they seem to be rare or nonexistent. I’m not really alarmed about it, rather I suspect this is just one more example of localized bird numbers being difficult to predict.