Tag: humane society of utah
A Plucky Female American Kestrel Saves My Day
Sometimes a single bird saves the day for the bird photographer. That was exactly the case last Wednesday.
A Meadowlark Morning
Yesterday morning there was meadowlark magic on the island. They were almost everywhere, singing lustily from atop their sagebrush and rabbitbrush perches (and more than a few ugly signposts). Several times I just stopped the truck, turned the engine off and got outside to listen. You could hear dozens of them simultaneously – some very close, some far away and others everywhere in between. Their melodious calls literally bounced off the hilltops.
Male Northern Harrier – The Gray Ghost
One of my favorite subjects is the male Northern Harrier. Because juveniles of both sexes are similar to the adult female, to the untrained eye most harriers look like females which is one of the reasons that many folks believe that they rarely see males – thus the name “Gray Ghost” for the ”elusive” adult male.
Black-crowned Night Heron On Ice
Black-crowned Night Herons are the most widespread heron in the world, breeding on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. They’re relatively common in northern Utah, although it’s somewhat unusual for me to see them around here during winter. 1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light So two days ago I was surprised to find this juvenile still lurking around the wetlands of the Great Salt Lake. We’re in the middle of an inversion which means it’s very cold (I was shooting in temps of -10 degrees F yesterday morning) so most still water is frozen solid. This bird was standing on ice with a thin layer of snow on top. 1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light Juveniles look very different from adults. Instead of the basic black, white and gray colors of the adults these young birds are brown-streaked ventrally… 1/1250, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light and mostly solid brown dorsally. This orange-chrome eye color will turn bright red in the adult. 1/1000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light I didn’t realize it at first but this bird was in hunting mode. There’s a patch of open water just out of frame in front of the heron and the bird is watching it for fish activity. One time it made an incredibly fast move for a fish from this position but it missed. The heron didn’t stand any closer to the open water because the ice is…
Tree of Death (warning – graphic!)
In late January my friend Mia and I made the drive to the Promontory area north of the Great Salt Lake in a quest for Golden Eagle photos. We did find some eagles but were definitely unprepared for what else we stumbled upon. Second warning – most of these photos are graphic and may be profoundly disturbing to some. If you proceed further in this post, please – no complaints about what you’ve seen. You have been twice forewarned. A misleadingly idyllic scene What we found was the kind of country that I love – wide open spaces, big skies, blissful silence and isolation. The setting reminded me of the area around Cut Bank, Montana where I grew up. Tree of death So what a shock it was to come around a bend in the dirt road by this little reservoir and find such a horrific scene! Someone had apparently shot two Red Foxes, a domestic cat and a Common Raven and deliberately hung them in this tree right next to the road as some sort of a sick trophy display. First Red Fox in tree This Red Fox had been hung by its neck in a fork of branches. Second Red Fox in tree This one was simply draped over a stronger branch, very close to the road and with no obstructing branches between the fox and everyone who was forced to look at it as they came around the curve in the road. Cat impaled on fence post…
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A Plucky Female American Kestrel Saves My Day
Sometimes a single bird saves the day for the bird photographer. That was exactly the case last Wednesday.
A Meadowlark Morning
Yesterday morning there was meadowlark magic on the island. They were almost everywhere, singing lustily from atop their sagebrush and rabbitbrush perches (and more than a few ugly signposts). Several times I just stopped the truck, turned the engine off and got outside to listen. You could hear dozens of them simultaneously – some very close, some far away and others everywhere in between. Their melodious calls literally bounced off the hilltops.
Male Northern Harrier – The Gray Ghost
One of my favorite subjects is the male Northern Harrier. Because juveniles of both sexes are similar to the adult female, to the untrained eye most harriers look like females which is one of the reasons that many folks believe that they rarely see males – thus the name “Gray Ghost” for the ”elusive” adult male.
Black-crowned Night Heron On Ice
Black-crowned Night Herons are the most widespread heron in the world, breeding on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. They’re relatively common in northern Utah, although it’s somewhat unusual for me to see them around here during winter. 1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light So two days ago I was surprised to find this juvenile still lurking around the wetlands of the Great Salt Lake. We’re in the middle of an inversion which means it’s very cold (I was shooting in temps of -10 degrees F yesterday morning) so most still water is frozen solid. This bird was standing on ice with a thin layer of snow on top. 1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light Juveniles look very different from adults. Instead of the basic black, white and gray colors of the adults these young birds are brown-streaked ventrally… 1/1250, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light and mostly solid brown dorsally. This orange-chrome eye color will turn bright red in the adult. 1/1000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light I didn’t realize it at first but this bird was in hunting mode. There’s a patch of open water just out of frame in front of the heron and the bird is watching it for fish activity. One time it made an incredibly fast move for a fish from this position but it missed. The heron didn’t stand any closer to the open water because the ice is…
Tree of Death (warning – graphic!)
In late January my friend Mia and I made the drive to the Promontory area north of the Great Salt Lake in a quest for Golden Eagle photos. We did find some eagles but were definitely unprepared for what else we stumbled upon. Second warning – most of these photos are graphic and may be profoundly disturbing to some. If you proceed further in this post, please – no complaints about what you’ve seen. You have been twice forewarned. A misleadingly idyllic scene What we found was the kind of country that I love – wide open spaces, big skies, blissful silence and isolation. The setting reminded me of the area around Cut Bank, Montana where I grew up. Tree of death So what a shock it was to come around a bend in the dirt road by this little reservoir and find such a horrific scene! Someone had apparently shot two Red Foxes, a domestic cat and a Common Raven and deliberately hung them in this tree right next to the road as some sort of a sick trophy display. First Red Fox in tree This Red Fox had been hung by its neck in a fork of branches. Second Red Fox in tree This one was simply draped over a stronger branch, very close to the road and with no obstructing branches between the fox and everyone who was forced to look at it as they came around the curve in the road. Cat impaled on fence post…