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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Oct 11
Fall is beautiful at Antelope Island State Park
We spent Saturday afternoon at White Rock Bay on Antelope Island State Park. The Great Salt Lake was mirror still and the bay was covered with thousands of Eared Grebes. We saw hundreds of American Avocets sweeping for food in the shallows along the causeway (pictured). A few European Starlings were hanging out with (on) the island Bison. Two new birds for us: the Orange Crowned Warbler and the Savannah Sparrow (pictured). As we hiked we spotted a Loggerhead Shrike (pictured on the rocks). We also used our Nikon scope to watch a very entertaining Rock Wren.
Other birds seen:
Western Meadowlark
Red-wing Blackbird
Chipping Sparrow
Song sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
American Pelican
Northern Harrier
Canada Goose
Killdear
Willet
Raven
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Aug 2
Woke up wanting to see a Western Tanager
We took the annual trip to the Park City Arts Festival Friday night. The one piece I was tempted to buy was a great photo of a Western Tanager. I knew that Tanagers hung out by the trail head to Donut Falls, so we got up early this morning and set out to photograph a Tanager. The place was swarming with broad-tail hummingbirds and I caught a fast glimpse of a WT, but no photo opportunity. A Swainson's thrush and a yellow warbler sat nicely for shots, but no WTs. Then on the road out suddenly we spotted a flash of yellow, black and vermillion in the brush by the road. We ended up getting a great show from 3 Western Tanagers. I think they might be my favorite local bird... maybe a tie with the lazuli bunting.
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Jul 18
Oh great, Marmots
The snow is finally off Albion basin. We beat the wildflower festival crowds and went up last weekend. At our favorite bird spot a family of yellow bellied marmots were just emerging. We also spotted a new bird for us - the Clarkes Nutcracker.
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