About a year ago I spent some time with this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk as it honed its hunting skills. It wasn’t yet a very good hunter but it sure tried hard. It typically perched on top of some rocky outcrops as it scanned the grassy slopes below for voles. Then it would swoop down and make its attempt, though it seldom caught anything that I was aware of. Learning to hunt isn’t easy and the price to pay for failure is a dear one.
Late last week we encountered two coyotes walking east along the north side of the Antelope Island Causeway. One was a very light-colored adult and the other a slightly darker and smaller youngster. This summer has been a mighty survival struggle for the island’s coyotes – the vole populations crashed and the extreme heat and drought have taken their toll. These two actually seemed forlorn and destitute in both posture and demeanor as they walked the shore of the causeway. But they did show me several interesting behaviors that I was able to photograph.
Recently I’ve been reading some disturbing reports about the decline of the American Kestrel in North America. And I’m talking about a drastic decline! I’ve speculated about just that in a previous post, based on my own recent observations in northern Utah but I’ve been hoping that what I’ve noticed is only a local and temporary phenomenon. Apparently it isn’t.
Earlier this month we encountered an unusual male Pronghorn on Antelope Island. Close inspection through our lenses revealed something that caught our attention – this animal had two strange-looking projections apparently growing out of the top of its muzzle. .
Early last April we discovered a pair of Mountain Plovers on Antelope Island. This was only the 10th confirmed sighting of the species in Utah so it created quite the stir when we reported it to UBIRD
Each time I look at this image, at first the wing above the head appears to be the birds right wing on the far side of the body. But then a few seconds later my brain tells me that’s impossible because the lower wing is obviously the right wing and it’s impossible (or at least highly unlikely) for the hawk to have two right wings.
Last week, partially in an effort to get away from the aggravations of the blog hosting problems I’d been having, I decided to make the extra long drive to extreme northern Utah in a quest for Swainson’s Hawks. We found quite a few and a delightful bonus was a plethora of Ferruginous Hawks in the same area.
No, the Roughies haven’t returned early from their northern adventures. It’s just that I got to thinking about them yesterday while looking through some older images and was reminded of how handsome they are and how much I look forward to their appearance in the fall.
This is the last in my four part series on the color morphs of the Swainson’s Hawk. Today the focus is on the dark morph.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not particularly skilled in identifying some of the songbirds. This wren is a case in point. I’m unsure if it’s a Rock Wren or a House Wren.
So, a little help from my friends?…
Historically, Blue Grouse have been divided into two major groups – Dusky Grouse and Sooty Grouse. But bases on recent mitochondrial DNA sequencing studies as well as on behavioral and distribution information, both groups are now considered to be separate species.
I’ve reported previously on this blog that Barn Owl populations took a huge hit this past winter in northern Utah. It was dreadfully cold for much of the winter with lots of snow. Normally that’s not a huge problem for these owls but with deep snow on the ground we had a warm spell that melted the surface of the snow and immediately after that we had an extended cold snap. Those conditions caused a hard crust of ice to form on the snow surface that lasted for weeks.
At 5:30 yesterday morning Mia and I almost decided to stay home rather than make the hour-long drive to Antelope Island because the area up north looked to be socked in with clouds (the “Farmington Curse” I’ve mentioned before) but after we picked up our traditional “shooting breakfast” (chocolate donuts) we chose to take our chances and go anyway – a choice I’m glad we made.
The Golden Eagle has long been a nemesis species for me. Over the years I’ve had a handful of potentially spectacular opportunities with these birds but something has always gone wrong.
This is the nesting pair of Ospreys I photographed at Flaming Gorge, Utah two weeks ago today. The male was coming in for a landing to relieve the female on the eggs. The dark background was a deeply shaded mountain to contrast the bird that had a little more light on it.
