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 […]
Read MoreGolden hours… Of course, I knew about them but only theoretically. I knew that they usually happen at sunrise and last one to two hours after. To experience these golden hours I got up at 5 am which I have never done before and planned to get to Bear river at seven. When I left […]
Read MoreAlmost every bird at Bear river has its favorite spot. This Great blue heron found a little island of dry plants. He often stands like a stick there waiting and watching. Pelicans sometimes are passing by. No reaction. I tried to photograph this heron a few times but he never let me do it, always […]
Read MoreIn October cowboys and cowgirls will arrive on horses on Antelope island for the annual roundup. They will bring all bisons to the corall where animals would be checked for health. Meanwhile, bisons are free. Sometimes certain species of birds are feeding on insects they find in the bison’s fur. The bison in the dust. […]
Read MoreAmerican White pelicans are still at Bear river but they rarely seen in big colonies at the end of summer. These pelicans decided to have a family reunion on a log. They shared a place with two cormorants. I tried to fit all of birds in one frame but it didn’t work well. I gave […]
Read MoreSoon it will be time to say goodbye to special bird friends like White-faced ibises. In September they will depart for their more southerly wintering areas. I will miss them.
Read MoreMay. Farmington Bay. Great egrets. I never left my car taking pictures of these birds, only from time to time moved from a driver’s seat to a passenger seat. I was learning how to do it quickly and smoothly. The birds stayed so close to the shore and that was what I needed. They were […]
Read MoreDance like there is nobody watching. Dance to celebrate life. Express yourself fully. Just be and dance.
Read MoreThe first breath of autumn in the mountains. Yesterday I read a saying from a boy named Nkosi Johnson, who lived in South Africa. Like many children there, Nkosi was born with HIV, and he died when he was twelve. He had a mantra, as he called it. This mantra touched my heart deeply: “Do […]
Read MoreI photographed hummingbirds three days in a row. On the first day humming birds stayed far away from me. On the second they were a little closer. On the third day hummingbirds were comfortable with my presence. I wonder did they recognize me? Did they trust me? I think they did. When I shared my […]
Read MoreAt the beginning of a meeting. And at the end. These birds are Bank swallows.
Read MoreMama Hummingbird is feeding her baby. Never let your dreams be just… I dreamed to take just one picture of a Hummingbird in flight. I was trying and failing, trying again and failing again but I never felt frustrated or unhappy. I said to myself that it will be another day, another week, another year […]
Read MoreIn English my name has only four letters and it means nothing. In Russian it has five letters and means impatience. That is true, I am impatient but not always. And to the point. Once my name was my grandmother’s name and now it’s mine. My grandmother was an avid reader, she read every book […]
Read MoreA few steps how Snowy Egret eats his fish. First, he tries to position fish that he could comfortably to swallow it. Still working on it. Snowy Egret starts swallowing fish. Fish is in his throat. It’s time to look for another fish.
Read MoreCormorant… I met him two weeks ago. He was swimming forward and back, making a few circles there and here with fish in his mouth. He had a difficult time to swallow it. I was following him with my camera almost in the same pattern only on a shore. Eventually Cormorant swallowed his fish and […]
Read MoreJust like that the King of the world aka Great blue heron was looking at his desert. Joking. I was so happy to find him standing on a pole and hoped that he would be kind and give me a chance to get his pictures. And the King was kind I got a few decent […]
Read MoreMy infatuation with butterflies was always strong. I like these little creatures for their fragility and grace. Their wings are so colorful and beautiful. Butterflies are like flying flowers with singing and dancing souls.
Read MoreThat was a cloudy evening on Bear river and I had a difficult time sometimes to get a proper shutter speed. When I saw this bird the sun came out from under clouds for a few seconds and I was able to take a few pictures of her. I believe this is a female Yellow-headed […]
Read MoreI never thought that some day I would be able to take a picture of a humming bird. First, I was trying to capture her when she was in the air and beating her wings very fast but it was impossible. After a few attempts I gave up and just watched a humming bird and […]
Read MoreTime flies. It seems that only recently was March and I was learning how to photograph American avocets in flight. The whole experience was exciting but not very promising and often frustrating. Looking at these photographs I think how elegant and beautiful these birds were, how excited I was watching them and taking photos. Things […]
Read MoreThere are hundreds of pelicans at the Bear river in July. They are on the shore close to each other and immature ones are very curious exploring the river. Immature pelicans are adventurous, they come close to you. This time of year American white pelicans are staying at Bear river in feeding flocks gorging […]
Read MoreThere were eight little ducklings by the pond sleeping and moving sometimes. Unfortunately,they were quiet far away. My first pictures didn’t look good on the screen of my camera. I thought if I move little by little closer perhaps I can get a few decent pictures. I also thought if I would be at the […]
Read MoreSnowy Egret was preening himself with his beautiful wings spread wide, he was examining every feather carefully aligning them in the way that he could fly easily. I read also that the birds during the preening spread the oil onto each feather to keep them clean and healthy.
Read MoreA young brave grebe eventually got closer to the shore and then a couple showed up . I was hoping that some of these grebes would perform a show for me running across the water as part of their courtship ritual, but none of them did. Their courtship ritual will continue through July. I still […]
Read MoreThere were three Long-billed Curlews; mama, a baby and dad. Mama tried to stay close to her baby and dad was wondering on his own, far away from his family. The baby decided to cross the road and that was the last time his mama and I saw him. He went into tall grass and […]
Read MoreI met her yesterday. She found the way from the mountains to our field and then to our yard where she stayed for awhile, drank water from the neighbor’s bird bath and left. This morning she visited us again and gave me an opportunity to take her pictures. There was a long silent staring at […]
Read MoreWhen I saw this beautiful heron I thought no way I could get his picture. The moment I leave my car the heron would be gone. I got out of my car anyway. I do this often even I am sure that I would not be able to get a picture. I noticed that I […]
Read MoreContrary to their name these gulls are the state bird of Utah. They are migratory birds move to the Pacific coast in winter. That is only then this bird is regularly found in California. California gulls nest in colonies. The female usually lays 2 or 3 eggs. Both parents are very responsible and feed their […]
Read MoreSometimes you wait for the moment to come, you forget about time and space, you are all anticipation and hope. You wait for luck to happen. And if it happens everything falls into its place; the birds are still, no gusts of wind, the water is so calm and if the wind suddenly blows up […]
Read MoreInspiration comes when you see them. They are so light, fragile and elegant. And then you remember that their life is so short. Some butterflies live one day another two or more days. Such a short life but probably for a butterfly it’s an eternity.
Read MoreMy last visit to Farmington Bay was great, I saw again Snowy egrets. The male was so close that I was able to take his portrait. The female was more cautious. She all the time stayed far away. It’s interesting that snowy egrets are not the early birds, they usually show up on a marsh […]
Read MoreFarmington bay, Snowy egret.
Read MoreThe Black-crowned night heron is looking for food. He does it mainly in the night time or early morning. He would stand still for a long time at the water’s edge very alert looking for prey. And then he would finally would catch a frog. He swallows a frog whole. I missed the moment – […]
Read MoreSticks are usually gathered by male Snowy egret and presented to the female. The female Snowy egret (in the background) was so busy cleaning herself that the male changed his mind and dropped his stick.
Read MoreEvery prey bird always looks over its shoulder while hunting. A bold eagle is different. It’s absolutely fearless.
Read MoreFarmington Bay. Snowy Egret Once Robert Frank said to Annie Leibovitz that you can’t take every picture. It’s sometimes impossible. That is exactly what these pictures are about. I wish that Snowy Egret would be more close. I wish that he would not hide from time to time in the grass but reality was different […]
Read MoreTwo geese were fighting over their territory. It was an ugly fight and a white goose was hurt hopefully not badly. I feel sorry for him.
Read MoreIf a male pelican would not perform a proper dance during courtship he would be rejected by female. I think this male pelican started a very beautiful dance. She begins to pay attention. She is paying even more attention to his dance. The courtship continues. I think he was very impressive during courtship. I also […]
Read MoreOn Wednesday I got a shock when I entered Bear river refuge. I didn’t see anymore American avocets. The place were they used to hang around dried up completely. For the first time I realized that I know NOTHING about desert. Ibises also were gone. Where they used to be there was no water at […]
Read MoreFluffy and almost clean. Final examination. A White -faced Ibis is going over each feather and is zipping feathers back together. Clean and pretty. Birds preen their feathers every day.
Read MoreI always wanted to photograph this bird but didn’t have an opportunity.Today I was lucky watching these amazing birds. It’s getting warm in Northern Utah and I would have less and less opportunities to go to my favorite places to watch birds. Last time I went to Bear River refuge and was shocked that the […]
Read MoreI don’t like beautiful garden flowers. They are too perfect, too gorgeous and too boring. The wild flowers are different. You have to stop and pay attention to them to see their beauty. For some people dandelions are just little annoying weeds, for others they are flowers who also want to be loved. Dandelions never […]
Read MoreWhite-faced ibis. In ancient Egypt killing an ibis was punishable by death. Ibis was considered a sacred bird. It’s interesting that when American naturalists saw for the first time ibises they confused them with herons, storks and curlews. In April 2015 I saw for the first time Glossy ibises. I was driving on the country […]
Read MoreDo you remember the Christmas cards where the beautiful Robins were sitting peacefully side by side on the branches? They looked so friendly, so sweet but the reality is different. The male Robins spend much of their lives fighting, they are not friendly birds. I took these photographs in March. Seeing Robins was very joyful. […]
Read MoreFinally, I reached the Bear River refuge and drove miles and miles around the river on the narrow dirt road. It was early afternoon and the desert was peaceful and comforting. I didn’t see any birds for the first fifteen minutes until I spotted many white birds. They were so far away that my first […]
Read MoreI had a difficult time to identify this goose until I came across the Cackling geese. Cackling geese resemble so much in appearance Canada geese. Cackling geese have long black necks (my goose has a long black neck) Cackling geese also have white chinstraps. My goose has this white chinstrap. And most important my […]
Read MoreWhen I saw these birds I didn’t know what kind of birds they were. Later I would learn that I photographed Sandhill cranes. They arrive in the Northern Utah at the beginning of March and stay for the summer breeding season. Soon they will start a courtship with their special dances.
Read MoreThere were so many things happening on that day in San Diego. Conversation with a wonderful young woman from Switzerland who was so kind and gave us her pass to San Diego Zoo. Thoughts about my dad who would be so happy to visit this zoo. And euphoria that we were in one of the […]
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