The Coyote And The Pesky Deer Fly
Coyotes really don’t like biting flies. In fact I believe I can safely say that they truly hate horse flies and deer flies in particular.
Tag: utah
Red-tailed Hawk In Full Flight
I like the backgrounds provided by western mountains for birds in flight but as I’ve said previously backdrops with texture make it more difficult to get sharp focus lock on the bird.
Farmington Bay, Bald Eagles And The 2014 Carp Kill
For years managers at Farmington Bay WMA have killed carp as a management tool. The dead fish bring in hundreds of Bald Eagles but this year, because of the West Nile Virus outbreak in the eagle population, managers had to decide whether or not to proceed with the fish kill. That decision has been made.
Adult Red-tailed Hawk – Total Plumage
It’s become our tradition to spend New Year’s Day in northern Box Elder County looking for raptors. Just over two weeks ago this adult Red-tail gave me a good look at the entirety of its visible plumage.
A Tribute To The “Common Species”
Many bird photographers tend to largely ignore the most common species in their areas and I’m as guilty of that as anyone.
There seems to be a sort of “supply and demand” philosophy – the more common they are the less appealing they are as subjects. That’s too bad for at least a couple of reasons – familiar birds can be just as interesting and beautiful as many of the others and what’s “common” where we live and/or shoot is very often uncommon or even nonexistent for folks in other areas. This post is meant to make up to some degree for my own poor judgment at times in choosing subjects.
Hummingbird Respite
Snow, cold, fog, dreary skies, poor light and polluted air – that’s all we’ve had for many days and I’m sick of it! This morning I need a reprieve and hummingbirds will provide it..
Western Meadowlark In The Snow
In northern Utah, anticipating how long our Western Meadowlarks will stick around during winter is always a guessing game.
Bald Eagle Flaring For A Landing (+ an update on Utah’s dying eagles)
I drifted to sleep last night thinking about Bald Eagles, their majesty and their recent vulnerability. It’s almost “the season” for them in Utah and there’s a new threat on the horizon so I knew this mornings post would be about them.
Male American Kestrel In A Pastel Setting
I haven’t been able to get close to many male American Kestrels recently but at least I’m seeing a few of them now. They were alarmingly scarce all summer.
Barn Owl On A Snowy Slope
Earlier this week I spent 59 minutes with this Barn Owl (a male I believe). This is early in the encounter when he was still getting used to me.
Fighting Harriers
The seriousness of confrontations between Northern Harriers varies with the situation. Conflicts over food, especially during harsh winters, can be intense and dramatic but they often seem to spar with each other just for the “fun” of it. I’ve often seen and occasionally photographed both extremes of aggressive behavior.
Bald Eagle Potpourri
Yesterday morning I saw my first Bald Eagle of the season at Farmington Bay. It was too far away for even mediocre images but it was there! We have a small number of resident eagles in northern Utah but those few birds normally don’t hang out at Farmington this early in the season so I’m not sure if it was a wandering resident or an early migrant. Either way it was a delight to see.
As a result, when I began thinking about today’s post my mind kept returning to eagles so I thought I’d present several images taken at Farmington two winters ago.
Lazuli Buntings In The San Rafael Swell
Appropriately named after the blue gemstone lapis lazuli, the Lazuli Bunting is one of our most colorful western birds. The persistent and conspicuous song of the male throughout the breeding season has been likened to an “acoustic barcode” that is unique to that individual bird.
Red-tailed Hawk Gliding To Its Prey
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.
Some Interesting Coyote Behaviors
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.
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Red-tailed Hawk In Full Flight
I like the backgrounds provided by western mountains for birds in flight but as I’ve said previously backdrops with texture make it more difficult to get sharp focus lock on the bird.
Farmington Bay, Bald Eagles And The 2014 Carp Kill
For years managers at Farmington Bay WMA have killed carp as a management tool. The dead fish bring in hundreds of Bald Eagles but this year, because of the West Nile Virus outbreak in the eagle population, managers had to decide whether or not to proceed with the fish kill. That decision has been made.
Adult Red-tailed Hawk – Total Plumage
It’s become our tradition to spend New Year’s Day in northern Box Elder County looking for raptors. Just over two weeks ago this adult Red-tail gave me a good look at the entirety of its visible plumage.
A Tribute To The “Common Species”
Many bird photographers tend to largely ignore the most common species in their areas and I’m as guilty of that as anyone.
There seems to be a sort of “supply and demand” philosophy – the more common they are the less appealing they are as subjects. That’s too bad for at least a couple of reasons – familiar birds can be just as interesting and beautiful as many of the others and what’s “common” where we live and/or shoot is very often uncommon or even nonexistent for folks in other areas. This post is meant to make up to some degree for my own poor judgment at times in choosing subjects.
Hummingbird Respite
Snow, cold, fog, dreary skies, poor light and polluted air – that’s all we’ve had for many days and I’m sick of it! This morning I need a reprieve and hummingbirds will provide it..
Western Meadowlark In The Snow
In northern Utah, anticipating how long our Western Meadowlarks will stick around during winter is always a guessing game.
Bald Eagle Flaring For A Landing (+ an update on Utah’s dying eagles)
I drifted to sleep last night thinking about Bald Eagles, their majesty and their recent vulnerability. It’s almost “the season” for them in Utah and there’s a new threat on the horizon so I knew this mornings post would be about them.
Male American Kestrel In A Pastel Setting
I haven’t been able to get close to many male American Kestrels recently but at least I’m seeing a few of them now. They were alarmingly scarce all summer.
Barn Owl On A Snowy Slope
Earlier this week I spent 59 minutes with this Barn Owl (a male I believe). This is early in the encounter when he was still getting used to me.
Fighting Harriers
The seriousness of confrontations between Northern Harriers varies with the situation. Conflicts over food, especially during harsh winters, can be intense and dramatic but they often seem to spar with each other just for the “fun” of it. I’ve often seen and occasionally photographed both extremes of aggressive behavior.
Bald Eagle Potpourri
Yesterday morning I saw my first Bald Eagle of the season at Farmington Bay. It was too far away for even mediocre images but it was there! We have a small number of resident eagles in northern Utah but those few birds normally don’t hang out at Farmington this early in the season so I’m not sure if it was a wandering resident or an early migrant. Either way it was a delight to see.
As a result, when I began thinking about today’s post my mind kept returning to eagles so I thought I’d present several images taken at Farmington two winters ago.
Lazuli Buntings In The San Rafael Swell
Appropriately named after the blue gemstone lapis lazuli, the Lazuli Bunting is one of our most colorful western birds. The persistent and conspicuous song of the male throughout the breeding season has been likened to an “acoustic barcode” that is unique to that individual bird.
Red-tailed Hawk Gliding To Its Prey
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.
Some Interesting Coyote Behaviors
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.