Elegance
Elegance like all magnificent thighs is simple. The Snowy Egret is showing off all its beauty and elegance.
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In the Marsh
The Black-Crowned Night Heron is looking for food in the early morning in the marsh in full breeding attire.
Read MoreThe Short Story of Long-Billed Curlew
The same spot. The same time of year – early spring. The same field. I was very excited to see this bird again. Every spring I look for it at the same field and Long-Billed Curlews never failed to be there.
Read MoreA Cute American Coot
An American Coot isn’t the most beautiful bird in the world but it certainly cute. The coots are awkward in flight, especially on taking off, they beat their wings for a long distance before getting into air. Their long toes are good for swimming and also support their weight when a coot is […]
Read MoreOpen-Minded White-Faced Ibis
Ibises are back! It’s fun to watch them, especially when they fly. This ibis is happy! He caught his lunch snack. Ibises are specialists using their long curved beaks. They catch food quickly. Ibises are social birds. They like to hang out with their friends. They even don’t mind to hang […]
Read MoreMourning Dove
I saw a Mourning Dove only three times. First time in June, 2018 at Farmington Bay. While driving along the bay I spotted on a long branch a bird I have never met and found it incredibly beautiful. June, 2018. My neighborhood. Two Mourning Doves graced us with their presence and stayed for […]
Read MoreYellow-Headed Blackbird
The male displays are fun to see and hear. Some people call its song ugly and bizarre, weird or hilarious, but a female Yellow-Headed blackbird finds it irresistible.
Read MoreA Bird with a Loud Call
For a while I didn’t understand why this bird has such an odd name Killdeer. Right now I know that this name was given to it because of its call that is very loud and piercing kill-dee. I even tried to imitate it but wasn’t very successful. Killdeer has the white fluffy feathers on […]
Read MoreAmerican Avocet in a Courtship and Mating
A courtship started. The female keeps her body parallel to the water. Soon the male will mount the female The male mounted the female. And copulation began. In about a minute it would be over and the elegant post-mating dance began. The pair crossed beaks in their post-mating […]
Read MoreMore on Pronghorn Antelopes
Pronghorn antelopes have a strong and beautiful pair of horns on top on their head. Males have more prominent horns like this one. Pronghorns are great runners. They can run 65 miles per hour. Bisons only 40 miles per hour. Female Pronghorns. When Antelope Island was discovered by explorers […]
Read MoreSteeler
I couldn’t resist taking picture of Steeler. He/she was so cute and nice. For a while. Later he/she would start growling at me, saying enough is enough. And a photo session was over.
Read MoreLadies Come First
There were several female Pronghorn antelopes on Antelope Island yesterday and only a few males. The first female gave me a chance to take her portrait. Then I followed the antelopes for as long as they let me. I am showing here only photos of female antelopes. Ladies always come first! Males can wait. […]
Read MorePlayful Time – III. Finale
The first few days after arriving to Bear river pelicans are very excited, joyful and playful. And then they slow down. Pelicans are ready to breed and to raise their offsprings.
Read MoreTogetherness
The blurry bits in the background are brine flies. California gull and Black-Necked Stilts feed on them.
Read MoreOn the Country Roads
A very handsome guy and also very photogenic. Together. Gentle and very loving.
Read MoreSandhill Cranes are Back!
If you heard once a song of a Sandhill Crane you would remember it for the rest of your life. It’s loud! Here he is singing his song. Soon the Sandhill cranes will start a courtship with their wonderful dances. At the end the Sandhill Cranes walked together. A beautiful […]
Read MorePlayful Time -II.
The first arrival of American White pelicans to Bear river is always joyful and filled with a lot of action. Pelicans are ready to mate, to breed and raise their offsprings.
Read MoreMating Dance
A mating dance was not very long but long enough that I could take photos of it. The dance was powerful, fast and beautiful. Later another American Coot joined a mating couple. Perhaps, if things would not go well he could step into the dance. Or something like this… […]
Read MoreChaos
Our real discoveries often come with chaos. The more I watched California gulls flying in the chaotic way the more I liked this organized chaos that looked strange but very interesting. I think.
Read MoreIn the Golden Light
That late evening in the warm golden light I felt sometimes that the time stopped. Even for a short while. I was totally absorbed by this bird, watching how it caught fish, how it moved slowly and graciously, little by little. That was an unforgettable evening.
Read MorePlayful Time
White American Pelicans are back at Bear River! Hundreds of them! They are ready to mate, to breed and very playful. They also own the Gunnison Island on the Great Salt Lake. For free! Every summer pelicans are raising their babies on this island. The Gunnison Island is closed to the public. Our state takes […]
Read MoreFish for Supper
I never stayed at Bear river before sunset but evening was warm and the Bear river was changing its colors from deep blue to golden warm. It was so peaceful, so refreshing that I didn’t notice that it was getting darker and darker. I spotted the Great Blue Heron fifteen minutes before the sun went […]
Read MoreIt’s Time to Say Goodbye to Bald Eagles
I was fortunate to photograph these beautiful birds this year. Last year Bald Eagles were so far away that I could only watch them with my binocular. The Bold Eagles are migratory birds, they return back to Northern Utah next winter.
Read MoreFish For Breakfast
There is a saying, you can’t bathe in the same river twice. This saying came on my mind when I came to Farmington Bay the day after I took many photographs of Bold Eagles. I was hoping that I would get a few more photos of these incredible birds before their migration. But there were […]
Read MoreAmerican Bold Eagle
The Bald Eagle is not difficult to identify when you see its distinctive brown body and white head. It’s a big bird. I didn’t realize how big is the Bald Eagle until I saw it. It is also a very powerful prey bird. During breeding season the male and female work together to build a […]
Read MoreJuvenile Bold Eagle
When I saw this Juvenile Bald Eagle on the tree I thought no way I could take his photos because he was far away. I walked toward him, one little step and then another hoping that he would not fly away. I even “talked” to him, asking to stay in the same spot for a […]
Read MoreDancing Bald Eagles
My first trip to the Farmington Bay after a long and snowy winter was very interesting. I didn’t expect anything special, I thought if I would see even one bird I would be happy to photograph it. I didn’t expect to see American Bald Eagles. That was a wonderful surprise. Bald Eagles usually stay to […]
Read MoreTogether
I took these photographs in May, 2018. Snowy Egret and Great Egret were sharing one space. It was during the breeding season when a male Great Egret develops a green color around his eyes to attract a female. The male Great Egret. The Snowy Egret. Again the Great Egret.
Read MoreNorthern Shovelers
This morning I went to Antelope Island hoping to find a colony of Burrowing Owls. I didn’t find them. I walked on the field looking for burrows where owls supposed to be, but there weren’t any owls. Well, instead of owls I photographed Northern Shovelers. They were far away but somehow I managed to get […]
Read MoreSquirrel
What a place a squirrel chose to enjoy her cone! But probably it is safe. In a few seconds she would put a cone in a dent on the branch. Will she remember where she hid it? Sometimes squirrels forget where they hide their food. A hunt for cones continues.
Read MoreSome Day
I look at this photograph and think what would happen if I didn’t try to photograph this beautiful bird. Just look at it or even better would bring with myself our new binoculars and just study every feather, every movement. Our new binoculars is more powerful than my lens. It would open a new world, […]
Read MoreFemale Common Yellowthroat
When I am having a difficult time to identify a bird I remember the words of the wildlife photographer Paul Higgins ” I am becoming less preoccupied with labeling birds and more experiencing them.” I feel the same lately. Well, I believe that I photographed a female Common Yellowthroat but I am not sure because […]
Read MoreSee Me, World…
This photograph I took in June. It was a warm late evening at the Bear river when I saw a Double-crested Cormorant on a log. He was enjoying the last sun rays while drying his wings. Cormorants don’t have waterproof feathers, they often spread their wings to dry them.
Read MoreBlack-capped Chickadee is Back!
This special bird is back to our local pond. It means that winter will arrive soon. What can I say about this bird? She has a small body but a big attitude. She is curious and daring. And most important she is happy to be alive. This little bird taught me to be patient when […]
Read MoreOnly a Few Seconds
With birds everything happens in a second. They are never still. They fly away from you or if you are lucky they fly toward you. I don’t have any idea why this California gull decided to fly toward me, I can only be grateful for that. Usually all birds are flying away from me. I […]
Read MoreWild, Wild West
Every year at the end of October the cowboys and cowgirls come on Antelope Island to bring bisons to the coral where animals will be checked for health. We call this event Roundup.
Read MoreTwo Important Lessons
My first large bird I photographed was a Long-Bill Curlew. It was March and I was driving to Bear river when I spotted two big birds with long curvy bills on the open field. They blended so well in their habitat that my camera had a difficult time focusing but luckily I got a few […]
Read MoreMale Mule Deer and His Harem
I noticed a male Mule Deer when I was leaving Antelope Island. He was far away and I decided to walk toward him. It didn’t take long time to realize that he wasn’t alone. Three beautiful females were with him. The female deer were shy and all the time hiding but this one was curious […]
Read MoreSleeping Beauty
I always wanted to see an owl, any owl. I have never seen this bird in the wild. Yesterday I went to Garr ranch on Antelope Island determined finally to see an owl. My previous three trips to this ranch weren’t successful. There weren’t owls around or I didn’t see them. Luckily, yesterday I met […]
Read MoreThe Stars of the Show at the Beau Pond
Today I saw two ducks I have never seen before at the Beau pond. They were so different among local crowd. How did they find their way to our local pond? Are they going to stay there for the winter? Or they are transitory? Later I tried to find out what kind of ducks they […]
Read MoreFighting Over Territory
We call our mistakes experience. We like to think about failures as one step forward. But no matter what names you give to your mistakes and failures you always wish that they would never happen. I was leaving park on a Saturday morning not expecting anything. My camera’s battery was on low and I didn’t bother to […]
Read MoreRed-Winged Blackbird
Went to Farmington Bay to see what is going there. The first bird I saw was the male Red-Winged Blackbird. There were a few of them but this one stayed close. The males are all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar.The females are not so impressive, they are just light brown.
Read MoreMule Deers -1.
There were four of them on the mountains. At first, I didn’t dare to climb there, I was scared of bisons. But bisons weren’t around and I started to climb. Climbing wasn’t difficult at all. I looked for rocks trying to get around them and moved slowly trying not to scare deers. Once I looked […]
Read MoreBon Appetit!
Pine seeds can be so delicious for squirrels. They gather cones during fall and burry them close to their nests to have food during winter months. Bon Appetit!
Read MoreWild Turkeys -2.
I was so fascinated by Wild Turkeys that I came next day to the same place and to my surprise they were there. This time I could come even closer, they weren’t scared of me, just did what they were doing before, napping, resting and cleaning. Something was special about the broken tree, it became […]
Read MoreChukar Partridge
I found Chukar at Farmington Bay. There were two of them but one was hiding in the tall grass and another was peacefully wondering around. Sometimes she stopped for a short nap, then continued with her usual route.
Read MoreWild Turkeys -1.
Wild and beautiful. Perhaps, not so beautiful but interesting. I love their faces, eyes, long necks and feathers. I met Wild Turkeys in our local park. There were six of them. At the beginning they gave me a hard to get closer to them, they ran away from me but not so far. I tried […]
Read MoreGreat Blue Heron
I wish I could predict birds behavior. Probably, it takes a lot of practice to learn this skill. Meanwhile, I was waiting when Great Blue Heron would take off and I would be able to take a photo of this beautiful bird in flight. And when the heron took off I wasn’t ready and missed […]
Read MoreDon’t Mess With My Baby
Juvenile American Avocet
I took these photographs in August 23, 2018. There were many avocets at Bear River at that time and they sometimes would come very close to you. Later they would never do it. Probably matured and became more careful. This avocet is preening himself. When the whole business of preening would be over the avocet […]
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