I photographed this female Dusky Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) while up in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Dusky Grouse were once considered “Blue Grouse” and some folks still call them that. This hen was traveling in a small flock of four to five birds as I recall and they were feeding right at the edge of […]
Violet-green Swallows Are House Hunting
About a week ago I began seeing Violet-green Swallows (Tachycineta thalassina) flying overhead. The year before last, I was fortunate to have Violet-green Swallows nesting in one of my birdhouses but they also nested in this same oak tree last year. The photographs taken below were snapped a couple of hours before sunset when I […]
Spring is Finally Here!
We started the morning at Petrie Island. It was beautiful sunshine with a crisp spring wind coming from north-west. Song Sparrows were singing everywhere and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were drumming from several places. The short trail around the island revealed Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Winter Wren. After our obligatory stop at Timmy’s we went […]
Black-necked Stilts
Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) have returned from their wintering grounds to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and other locations in Utah. Black-necked Stilts are black and white shorebirds with long pink to reddish legs, thin black bills and lovely red eyes. I photographed this male Stilt as he fed in front of me on April […]
A Spectrum Out for Vengeance
A wasp is assaulted by a flower’s wild side, a small detective on the edge of desperation, the only witness to a spectrum out for vengeance. • Braconid wasp
Americans having sex – what a laugh!
Today was an easy day – I mooched around the area of Bull’s Island near Charleston, South Carolina and Charleston itself. Charleston has lots of ‘old’ buildings – but it is a very pretty place. You have to cross a very impressive modern bridge to get to it and then it’s quaint and southern and […]
Bathing Backyard Birds
It is the middle of summer in the Philippines and the temperatures are reaching all-time highs. Last week, it was 36.7 degrees Celsius, one of the hottest recorded temperatures for capital city Manila and our backyards birds are enjoying the bird baths setup in the garden. We setup two bird baths two years ago and […]
A Loggerhead Shrike and it’s prey
A few weeks ago I was able to photograph a Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) near the marina on Antelope Island State Park, Utah. It was an interesting experience for several reasons. When I first spotted the Shrike it was perched on top of a Rabbitbrush and I was able to get several images of the […]