Refuge Monday

 A sunny day that filled up with smog later on. Lots of ice on the water, not many ducks around. Kestrels and Harriers were the dominant raptors, no eagles in sight. One GBH trying to stay warm..

Enjoy!

One lone GBH trying to stay warm..

The Grey Ghost aka male Harrier...

Kestrels were being super cute...

Northern Harrier hunting..

Wintertime peacefulness..

Winter Meadowlark..no singing as opposed to the Summer Meadowlark that sings..(same bird)..

Backyard Birds..

 With our snow and cooler weather the small birds have been quite active. Not much sunlight, so a bit challenging to get a partially decent photo, but what else do I have to do?

Here's some results..

A bird in the bush...Lesser Goldfinch..

House finch in flight..not much skill here, just in the right place at the right time..

Then the Juncos..on the ground, in the tree and on the feeder..

Refuge Monday

Another quiet day at the marshlands. A few more migrants have shown up - two Bald Eagles and several Harriers. The Rough-legged continues to display - Perhaps it is angling for a photo shoot!

It's encouraging to see the activity increase..I'll check again after this storm passes through.

Enjoy!!

Rough-legged...

Red-tailed hawk with crows harassing it..

Northern Shoveler on ice..

Refuge Tuesday

The refuge continues to be fairly quiet as far as raptors are concerned. The numbers are slowly increasing..three Kestrels, 5 Harriers and the first Rough-legged of the season. No eagles in sight. Lots of ducks..sometimes the water looks like it is made up of black dots.

Lighting was rough..started sunny then clouds and smog came in. 

Lots of these beautiful Pintails..

Caught the Rough-legged hovering. Never did go down after its prey.  Sure is a beautiful being..

Common Merganser, male...

These Black-crowned Night Herons were gathered together after a Harrier had disrupted whatever they were doing. Counted 8.

Several GBH's hanging out, some in the shrubs on the side of the road and some like this one..

Refuge Sunday

 A really glorious day to be out in the refuge - or anywhere else, for that matter. It was a fairly quiet day, clear skies but still lots of duck hunters out. 

Several Harriers out and about, male and female. One Red-tailed, one Kestrel and one Eagle. Several hundred ducks of various kinds grouped into a no-hunting area. Always good to be out whether there are any wildlife or not..

Enjoy!

This beauty sat and watched me go back and forth with the car to find an angle where the branch wasn't in front of it's face..

More that one way to get out duck hunting without walking..

Fall marsh grasses..

One cloud in the sky - but not natural. It came from the refinery below..

My first eagle of the winter..

Intriguing grasses....

Antelope Island again

 Randy and I visited Antelope Island Friday and this time it really lived up to its name. While we saw a lot of bison, the stars of the morning were the antelope hanging out in the grasses above the east road. Young ones, jumping and running and playing..quite cute. Somewhere around 22 or so counted. 

A coyote on the way in and buffalo and landscapes. Wonderful light around the island.

Enjoy!

Not in any hurry, she walked alongside the causeway so we could get the photos we wanted.

Looking in good health..

I met my wife, Diana, at the plant that has the smokestack..magnesium and chlorine plant..

Here's the stars of the morning..

Refuge Tuesday

 The Refuge activity is slowly picking up.  Duck season brings in a lot of hunters but if you avoid weekends and Friday afternoons - and overcast days - it is still pretty quiet. 

More Harriers are showing up as well as the Red-taileds. A few Black-crowned Night Herons are flying around, especially since there is now a lot more water. Ducks and geese are proliferating. No Rough-legged spotted so far.

Here's a few I really liked..

The Mallards are just so beautiful and colorful..

The herons are hiding by the edge of the large body of water. They weren't bothered by me stopping and backing up to get a photo. It's kind of the old - if I don't move they won't see me - theory.

This beauty was posing in a tree by the side of the road just before entering the refuge. Juvenile. The tree it was in was full of pigeons that didn't seem bothered by the hawk being there.

The hawk was initially behind a limb, obscuring it's head. I asked it to move - and it did! Ha!

Refuge Thursday

Refuge activity was quite slow Thursday. A sunny day, so very few duck hunters out. Nice to see the Red-tailed and Harrier hawks as well as the Kestrel. 

Fall colors are wonderful..but you have to like shades of brown and orange!! 

Red-tailed watching..

Fall colors

Female Northern Harrier ..quite a beauty

Kestrel..the refuge cutie...

Mother Nature's painting..

Hiding out..