Birds – Page 247 – Feathered Photography

Rough-legged Hawk – Topside View, With Prey

It’s pretty unusual to be able to see prey in the talons with a topside view of a hawk in flight.

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk Still Learning To Hunt

After yet another snowstorm all day yesterday I felt the need to post something this morning with absolutely nothing white in the background. This juvenile Red-tailed Hawk taking off after prey filled the bill.

Northern Harrier On A Mission

Typically Northern Harriers in flight studiously avoid my vehicle but occasionally (very occasionally) one will continue to circle and come in quite close. On the rare occasion when this happens I always wonder why.

The Phantom Pheasant

Yesterday morning I was able to catch a few Ring-necked Pheasants out in the open at Farmington Bay. This shot reminded me that things aren’t always as they appear.

A Different Look At The Alula (bastard wing)

Yesterday morning a Rough-legged Hawk gave me a perspective on the alula that I had never seen (or at least noticed) previously. I was on the verge of deleting these images when at the last second something about the left wing caught my eye.

Rust On Rust – Female American Kestrel

This female American Kestrel has been hanging around the same area of Farmington for almost two weeks now. Yesterday morning we found her near the end of one of her meals.

Several Sparrow Species In Frost And Snow

In my area most sparrow species aren’t easy to approach or catch out in the open for most of the year but when it’s very cold and they decide it’s time to begin their communal morning feeding routine they become much braver souls. Earlier this week I photographed three species of sparrows as they harvested seeds from their frost-covered parent plants.

Male Harrier In Flight On A Four Layered Background

For me the background can sometimes be almost as important as the bird. In this case it’s probably because I identify so personally with what’s back there, even though it’s all out of focus. This place is where I cut my photographic teeth years ago.

Rough-legged Hawk In A Frosty Wonderland

During winter, photography in the valley of the Great Salt Lake can be difficult at best due to frequent inversions that trap fog and smog in the low-lying areas and that especially includes the marshes near the lake. These inversions often last for days or even weeks and the fog and smog get progressively worse each day. But the fortunate result for photographers is the thick hoarfrost that blankets everything in the vicinity of the lake if and when the fog burns off during the day.

A Coot In Pursuit Of A Grebe’s Fish

Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.