Lazuli Bunting
Some days you only get one really good look a bird. At least today's was a Lazuli Bunting - one of my absolute favorite birds. This was shot up East Canyon on the Big Mountain part of the Great Western Trail.
Comments [2]
Jun 20
Jun 18
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Finally some good shots of a hummingbird! It took a lot of waiting in a meadow up the canyon. I watched this little guy chase bees and fly for nectar all over the meadow, but he kept coming back to the same perch. I just waited and snapped shots whenever he sat for a rest. How many colors can one bird have? Sometimes he was black, sometimes purple, sometimes red, sometimes green, sometimes blue.
Comments [1]
Jun 6
Paradise 10 Minutes from Home
The snow is finally gone from Little Cottonwood Canyon (at least below 7000 feet). The snow melt poured over the canyon walls in long season waterfalls filling the canyon creek and making it a raging white-water river. An excursion to the old Mormon temple granite quarry brought national park quality canyon views and great bird encounters. The Lazuli Bunting's blue heads glowed in the morning light. I was lucky to spot a little Black-chinned Hummingbird sitting on her tiny nest. We couldn't miss the bright yellows of Western Tanagers and Yellow Warblers. A House Wren even sat and singing while I snapped pics.
When May and June come around, I'm reminded why I love living in Utah with so many amazing natural places so close - some just 10 minutes from my house.
Birds and wildlife:
Mule deer
unidentified lizard
unidentified water snake
Turkey Vulture
Lazuli Bunting
Chipping Sparrow
House Finch
American Robin
European Starling
Black capped Chickadee
House Wren
Swainsons Thrush
Spotted Towhee
Black headed Grosbeek
Warbling Vireo
MacGillivray's Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Western Tanager
Black chinned Hummingbird
Comments [0]
Apr 17
First Warbler of the Year and a Cool Coot
A walk around the Jordan River (the one in Salt Lake City) yielded an unexpected friendly little yellow face. The first yellow warbler of Spring has arrived. The place was thick with Red-wing Blackbirds. I just love that flash of red when they are making territory displays. NEW BIRD - we saw our first Northern rough-winged swallow (too fast to photograph).
I also had a chance to get up close with an American Coot - they are smaller than they appear out on the Great Salt Lake. I'd say they're about half the size of a mallard. A Pied-billed Grebe was floating nearby as well.
Comments [0]
Apr 11
Persistence and a little luck yield new birds
What was supposed to be a warm 70 degree day at Antelope Island turned out to be grey and overcast with big wind gusts. I was skeptical that we would see anything other than gulls. The owls at Garr ranch were out and actually took flight for us to see. As we headed for the parking lot, We spotted a pair of Say's Pheobes by the barn (see photo of bird on metal roof)- NEW BIRD! However, my favorite bird of the day was a little rock wren singing his heart of in blasting wind - so he gets the first 3 pics of this post.
The visitor center also yielded some great shots of a white crowned sparrow. Down the road we use an iPhone to call a horned lark closer (and possibly made him very pissed off at the large Subaru horned lark in his territory. I think he looks like he's going to lose it in his pic. western meadowlark at Whiterock Bay gave me the poster shot (we must have seen at least 100 WMLs). The award for persistence and luck goes to Jessica for suggesting that we return to the island after lunch and try to find a reported sage thrasher by the visitor center. We climbed over rocks and scanned sagebrush. By now the wind had died and a peaceful afternoon was settling in. It was great to just sit back and listen to the meadowlark calls all around... and a call that didn't quite sound like a meadowlark. Scanning the ground way out, Jessica lucked into spotting a running bird. I spotted it too - then another. Behold - two sage thrashers running over the rocks - imposible to get a photo. A jack rabbit ventured into the area and I decided to get a picture. Aiming through the tiny view finder I THOUGHT I was shooting a rabbits ears sticking above a rock - when I checked the photo, no rabbit, but there WAS a safe thrasher. It's not a great shot and we were quite far away, but there it is - the luck bird of the day. Leaving the island I spotted my first avocet of the year - a sure sign that the great flocks will be coming in over the next few days. Spring migration is here!
Filed under //
birding
great salt lake
Comments [0]
Mar 28
Northern Harrier
Great Blue Heron
Eared Grebe
Meadowlarks , Chukars and Shrikes
A warm Spring day brought out the Western Meadowlarks on Antelope Island. We also saw a few Chukars and Loggerhead Shrikes. The cool moment for today happened at Whiterock Bay when I was taking a shot of two bison when suddenly and antelope jumped from the brush right into the frame. Other birds sighted included:Northern Harrier
Great Blue Heron
Eared Grebe
Comments [0]
Mar 14
Gold Finches and a Pine Siskin Feeder Flying
A couple of cool shots catching birds in flight around one of our feeders.
Filed under //
birding
Comments [0]
Feb 14
Great Horned Owls at Garr Ranch - Great Salt Lake
A fine faux spring day at Garr Ranch on Antelope Island (Great Salt Lake) had two great horned owls taking in the sun. I love the photo with the American Goldfinch hanging out with the owl (there were about 300 goldfinches around). It was nice to get out of the city and reconnect to nature for a few hours.
Comments [1]
Nov 21
Back to Johnson Mill for some wildlife and relaxation
We returned to Johnson Mill in Midway, Utah this week to rest and take in the wildlife on their 26 acre property along the Provo River bottoms. The bald eagles we saw in December were back on their same perch and joined by a third year youngster (see photo of it in flight). Down on the river we spotted a female Belted Kingfisher. The pond had a new bird for us - a female hooded merganser (see photo) was hanging out with the usual mallards and american coots. We also saw a pied billed grebe. In the evening we took a walk around the grounds where Jess got another new bird - a eurasian collared dove. The deer were out in droves. We saw a little two-point buck and a four-point buck with 8 does. One little guy practically walked right up to us (his two friends watched from the brush). I'm amazed at the wildlife we encounter just spending a day around the property. I hope that encroaching development doesn't spoil this fantastic little B&B.
Comments [0]
Oct 25
Provo River Dippers
This weekend's nature moment took us to my old haunts in Provo Canyon. We Walked the Provo River at Canyon Glen and then headed up to South Fork Park. It wasn't a lively day for birds, but we did see several American Dippers - including one standing on a rock singing at the top of his lungs. It's kin of strange to see a song bird sign a tune then suddenly plunge into river and swim around underwater. We also came across a tree full of Kinglets - both Ruby Crowned and Golden Crowned Kinglets. I also spotted a Belted Kingfisher and a Brown Creeper. The Golden Crowned Kinglet and the Creeper were new birds for us.
Filed under //
birding
Comments [0]
