I typically go about 10 months of the year without seeing Barn Owls flying in daylight but when snow and extremely cold temperatures arrive they’re often forced to hunt during daytime in order to obtain enough food to survive.
I was struck by the contrast in attitude and demeanor between these adult male Ring-necked Pheasants.
I have a small list of personal nemesis species but if forced to choose the top contender it would have to be the shy and elusive Golden Eagle. I’d estimate that I get a reasonable chance with one of these birds about two times per year and every time something goes wrong that prevents me from getting the photos I covet so much. Two mornings ago it was those ever-pesky power lines.
I found my FOY (first of year) Rough-legged Hawk yesterday morning but largely blew the photographic opportunity because of a rookie mistake in setting up my new 7D Mark ll.
Today, readers get a “twofer”: a Forster’s Tern with prey and a rare Common Black-hawk.
This female Osprey seemed stiff and less confident of her agility immediately after being relieved from many hours of nesting duty.
Raptors sometimes pull some pretty crazy maneuvers during take-off (the last 9 images in this post are sequential with no images in the sequence left out).
The Forster’s Tern is the only tern that is almost entirely restricted to North America year around. They’re sometimes called “marsh terns” because they breed primarily in fresh, brackish and saltwater marshes, including here in northern Utah. Prior to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Forster’s Terns were hunted for the millenary trade and because of their habit of hovering over other individuals that had been killed they were particularly vulnerable to being shot.
As common as they are in some areas I have very few quality images of Western Scrub Jays. They frequent scrub woodlands dominated by pinon pines or oaks in the west so it isn’t unusual for them to be found in Utah neighborhoods adjacent to the mountains where they sometimes visit bird feeders. I prefer to photograph them in their native habitat but they’re more shy there which partially explains my lack of images of the species.
Bird photography isn’t easy and the resulting images are often missing an essential element (or two, or more…) but sometimes I like those shots anyway. Case in point:
I’ve been aware for years that these owls sometimes take over badger holes but it’s something I’ve never been able to document without question until this week.
Early this past spring I had some wonderful opportunities with Sandhill Cranes near Capitol Reef National Park.
Ferruginous Hawks are noted for their long, tapered and pointed wings and I thought this image demonstrated that field mark well.
I spent yesterday morning cruising the back roads of Utah’s west desert with the primary goal of finding and photographing raptors.
