Silhouettes of Black-necked Stilts

That late evening on the Bear River MBR I was looking for an opportunity to create at least one decent silhouette and was lucky to meet a couple of Black-necked Stilts who helped me practice creating silhouettes.

Funny Barn Swallows

Barn Swallows are certainly interesting characters. Sometimes they are funny, sometimes serious and sometimes they are fighting viciously. 

Walk in the Swamp

Seeing a Great Egret is always exciting but when it’s walking in the dense swamp and the swamp sedges are part of the frame, the excitement turns to disappointment.

Later I realized that the situation actually was not that bad.  I shoot through the sedges and was hoping that they would create blur and fog. To my surprise, I liked the resulting images; they came out mysterious.

Flying Low

Usually, when birds fly low, it’s a sign of rain, but in this case the Snowy Egret simply was flying by and looking for a fishing spot.

Disheveled Beauty in the Marsh

Friday evening the sky was clear with only a few clouds and I headed out to spend a few hours on the Bear River MBR with hope of getting a chance to create some bird silhouettes.  

Unfortunately, this didn’t happen, but I managed a few decent backlit photos of Snowy Egret. The egret at one point looked spectacular with his disheveled standing up hair.

Pronghorns on Antelope Island – II.

With the first rays of the sun, the island sparkled with all its colors and the young Pronghorns became amazingly beautiful.

Pronghorns on Antelope Island – I.

I came across a herd of young Pronghorns yesterday and was glad to follow them for a while.

The first thing that caught my attention was a female Pronghorn with a red identification tag and a GPS collar around her neck.  

Franklin’s Gulls in Flight

Franklin’s gulls are at the Bear River MBR and will remain there for a while. 

These birds arrive in early April from as far away as Chile, along the shores of South America.  Thousands nest here in Norther Utah and leave our state by late September or early October.  How wonderful it is to have these birds at least for a while.

Generally, life is good.

 

Courtship Feeding

Courtship feeding is a unique behavior among Clark’s and Western Grebes. During courtship, the male Grebe catches a fish and offers it to the female.  

By sharing food, the male demonstrates his ability to provide for the female and their offspring.

Mating and Post-mating Dance

Copulation of Black-necked Stilts takes a few seconds and when it is finished, the post-mating dance will begin.

Great Horned Owlets – II.

The last time I saw Great Horned babies they were very small, but they have since grown and right now barely fitting in the nest.

Burrowing Owls -III.

Burrowing owls are monogamous.  Pairs may remain for one breeding season or even mate for life. Occasionally, a male may have two mates.

The male usually tries to attract the female to suitable nest site and may use special courtship flights, calls and various ways of showing his affection. Then comes copulation.

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge’s 96th anniversary

The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge celebrated its 96th anniversary today, as well as Earth Day.  

The gate to D-Line was opened for four hours and my adventure began on the narrow dirt road and ended up in the small town Perry. 

The scenery along D-Line was beautiful and marshes attracted many birds such as coots, cormorants, ibises, yellow-headed black birds and others.

Western Meadowlark with Its Prey

A few days ago while photographing Burrowing owls, out of nowhere a Meadowlark appeared right in front of me. Its beak was full of insects. I assume that the bird was going to deliver its prey to his chicks.

Burrowing Owls – II. During Courtship

During courtship Burrowing owls engage in various behavior to strengthen the pair bond and show affection to each other. 

Owls don’t kiss like humans, but sometimes express their affection in the way that closely resembles a kiss.

Burrowing Owls – I

Yesterday morning on Antelope Island was exceptional. I met a male and female Burrowing owls and stayed with them for almost two hours.

All this time, I watched with fascination as they preened, yawned, gave each other affection that was very reminiscent of a kiss and even their mating.

In the photo above is a female Burrowing owl, she was more active and often left the male alone, but not for long.

Clark’s Grebes in Courtship

Grebes exhibit spectacular courtship behavior.  They run side by side on the water, do weed dances,  preen themselves together and show affection of each other as in these series of photographs.

Notes to Self. A Little Discovery

A little discovery on Antelope Island is a narrow trail that goes on for several miles and will lead you… I don’t know where it will lead yet because I was afraid of meeting bison and didn’t dare to walk to the end of this trail.

I’ll gather up my courage and next time I’ll go through it to the end.

Generally, life is good!

 

Burrowing Owls on Antelope Island

Another day I spotted two Burrowing Owls and was excited to see them.  Unfortunately, the situation wasn’t very desirable; the owls were far away.

Getting several sharp photos would be great but I didn’t concentrate on it, I just photographed, waited for interesting moments that didn’t take long time to arrive.

At some point the two owls ended up together and remained that way for quite some time. This was a priceless moment I dreamed of for a long time!

In the Nest

The family of Great Horned Owls has lived on Antelope Island, on the Garr Ranch, for many years. This spring there is a new addition to the family – two very small owlets. 

 

 

When the young ones will be forty two weeks old they will make their first attempt to fly but it will take seventy days when they finally will learn how to do it properly.  

A Curious American Avocet

Birds are curious creatures, and their curiosity often leads them to new discoveries.  

So the Avocet above decided to check out the stone and if it was suitable for perching and possibly for fishing.

Chukar Partridge on Antelope Island

When I am on Antelope Island, I am always on the lookout for Chukars. Usually I examine the rocks in the hope of seeing one or two Chukars sitting on them. This time I spotted the Chukar on the top of the hill in a very unusual place.

During our meeting, the bird surprised me even more; it kept showing only its back.  It was very impolite but from time to time the Chukar mercifully turned her head showing its shining eyes – rather one eye – and that was enough.

Dawn on the Bear River MBR – II.

The night always gives way to dawn and it doesn’t matter how heavy and stormy the clouds are, the sun will break through them, and the mountains and the Bear River will shine in all their glory.

Generally, life is good.

 

Common Tern in Flight

The Tern flies with a small catch to a safe place.

Generally, life is good.

 

Chukar Partridge During Sunrise

As the sun rises it gets warmer and it’s time to perch on the rocks and observe the world.

Adult Male Northern Harrier

Three long years have passed since my first encounter with male Northern Harrier on Antelope Island. Yesterday heading to the island I met my second male Northern Harrier. 

The predator ended up not far from the road and perched on a metal pole with a wire. The sight of such poles always makes me nervous because birds accidentally get tangled in the wire and get injured.

American White Pelicans at the Bear River MBR

I love watching these large birds that usually gather in one big group in close proximity and they don’t care how inconvenient it maybe for others.

They yawn, preen and doze and feel so comfortable with each other. 

Dawn on the Bear River MBR

Yesterday while on the Bear River MBR, I spotted a Cormorant on a broken dead tree but he didn’t stay long there and left me with one photo that wasn’t really what I had imagined. 

I was about to leave, but the sun slowly rose over the mountains, light was heavenly beautiful and the whole world was transformed into a magic.

Generally, life is good. 

 

Double-crested Cormorant Before Sunrise

Cormorants have arrived on the Bear River MBR and it’s great to see them again.

Generally, life is good.

 

Dawn at the Bear River MBR – I.

March is the first month when the Bear River MBR welcomes returning birds including American Pelicans. 

Generally, life is good.

 

Greater Yellowlegs at the Bear River MBR

The Greater Yellowlegs is captivating wading bird, often called the “marsh piper” because it has a habit of wading in deeper water than sandpipers.

These birds, with flashy yellow legs, sometimes chase small fish while foraging. In the photo above the first bird caught something, perhaps a small crustacean.

Generally, life is good.

 

Notes to Self. A Rock Wren

The winter this year has been strange. Snow and rain turned the dirt roads into sticky clods of mud and I didn’t have much access to the Bear River MBR and spent mostly my time on Antelope Island where the roads are in good condition.

hWhile hiking on the island I came across a short winding trail between high cliffs and was surprised to see a few birds I have never seen before.  Later I will learn they were Rock Wrens.  Thanks to my friends that helped to identify these interesting birds.

Snowy Egret is Looking for Early Breakfast

I took these photos at the end of September at the Bear River MBR. It was a peaceful and warm morning. The small flock of Snowy Egret were wandering the swamp, looking for early breakfast.

One of Egrets from the flock was closer than the others and I decided to focused mainly on this bird and its behavior.

Excellent Diver

Double-crested Cormorants are excellent deep divers and can plunge as deep as 45 meters and stay in the water for a long time.  When Cormorants emerged from the water, they immediately spread their wings to dry them. 

Generally, life is good.

Western Grebes During Courtship

I photographed this couple last May just before they began their mating dance.

Western Grebes are known for their ballet-like courtship display. Male and female grebes run across the water in unison, their long necks curved in an elegant S-shape. It’s a mesmerizing sight!

Female Foster’s Tern is Begging for food

The female was persistently begging for food from her mate but all her efforts were in vain. Her mate never showed up.

They are Fun to Watch

To watch how Ring-billed Gulls behave and interact with each is delight.  They yawn when they are bored, showing their red mouth. When Gulls get  angry with each other, they express their displeasure very loudly.

Black-crowned Heron is Hunting

It was my lucky summer morning when at dawn I came across five Black-crowned Night Herons fishing in a very unusual open area.  After spending almost two hours with herons, I learned a thing or two about their behavior and how patient they are when hunting.

Flying Snowy Egrets

I look forward to spring and when the Snowy Egrets will grace the Bear River MBR with their presence.  Meanwhile, the American Avocets have already arrived!

Crossing the Road with Parents

I find this procession funny. The young bison is crossing the road with his parents. Everything should be as it should be, the young should be safe.

By the way, I had to wait in the car for this family to cross the road. It seemed that the bison were only concerned with how to get on the other side of the road, but the head of the procession sometimes looked in my direction in an unfriendly manner.

Second Encounter with an European Starling

When I first saw this Starling at Buffalo Point on Antelope Island,  I thought:  what kind of wind carried this bird high into the mountains.  The second time when I met the same Starling I was sure that this area was his territory.  

His Majesty at Bear River MBR – III. Finale

In these series of photographs I focused primarily on the American Bald Eagle’s wings which are build to soar and glide.  Bald Eagle can fly 225 miles in a single day.

American Kestrel

I came across this Kestrel last week while driving along the Causeway to Antelope Island and wondered if it was the old banded Kestrel I had often seen but when I got closer, the raptor didn’t have a band.  I wonder where the old Kestrel is now and if I’ll ever see him again?

By the way, male American Kestrels are the most beautiful of all predators!

Generally, life is good.

 

Western Meadowlarks and European Starling

Western Meadowlarks are very vocal birds and if they sing, they sing with all their hearts. With their sonorous songs, little singers sometimes create the misleading impression that their melodic songs are being sung by a choir.

 

 

Singing with all his heart to the whole world. 

 

 

Sometimes European Starlings join the Meadowlarks to perch together and Larks never mind being in the company of starlings.

Generally, life is good.

 

Powerful and Confident

Some people confuse bison and buffalo.  Both are large horned animals of Bovidae family.  Antelope Island is home to American bison.

Contrary to the song “Home on the Range”, buffalo do not roam the American West.  Instead, they are indigenous to South Asia (water buffalo) and Africa ( Cape buffalo).

The main difference between bison and buffalo is the presence of a hump.  Bison has one on its shoulders, the buffalo does not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Generally, life is good.

 

A Predatory Song Bird

Loggerhead Shrikes are predatory songbirds with the habits and beak of a raptor.  Although their food consists of large insects they hunt for lizards, small birds and mice.

When a shrike captures a bird or mammal, it immediately bites it behind the head to cut its spinal cord, so even large prey do not struggle for long.

If the prey is too large to consumed at one meal, the shrike hangs it up on a thorny twig or barbed wire fence for another day.

Generally, life is good.  

 

Horned Lark in Winter

Horn Larks live on Antelope Island year-round but are not often seen there. 

The last time I was lucky enough to photograph this bird was two years ago in June, 2022.  On that special day, the Horned Lark was kind enough to sing me one of its beautiful songs, but during our recent meeting the bird was silent. The mating season has not yet begun.

A Few Female Mule Deer

Antelope Island reveals itself differently each time.  The island may surprise or disappoint you.  I noticed that something interesting was waiting for me when I least expected it.

Yesterday the Antelope Island was kind. Early in my adventure I encountered a small group of female Mule deer.

Portrait of American Bison

The portrait of this bison appeared completely by accident.  

The bison was close to other bison who were not going to leave and I decided to shoot according to the situation. Later I cropped the photo and ended up with a strange portrait which, to my surprise, I liked.

By the way, if you notice the bison has a small RFID tag in one of his ears. This is his permanent identifier and links it to bison’s computer records that contain his health information.

Generally, life is good.

 

Chukar Partridge or Simply Chukar

Yesterday I encountered a Chukar Partridge in a very unusual location on Antelope Island.  The Chukar was perching peacefully on a rock and for a few precious minutes it allowed me to take a few photos.