It is with great sadness I report that a great birder and an even better friend, Billy Fenimore, passed away on May 5, 2022, from a month-long battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare neurological illness that took his life much too soon. Some of you may have known Billy personally as he was a very […]
Remembering Billy Fenimore, A Great Birder, And A Great Friend. Read More »
I will be the first to admit when I go bird watching on a wetland, the American coot isn’t a bird that easily grabs my attention, well, until last week, that is. Last Wednesday, while visiting Farmington Bay for a quick birding excursion, I witnessed and photographed something I had never seen before to this
The American Coot Is One Fierce Bird During Breeding Season Read More »
One of the best parts of bird watching, at least for me, that is, comes from the occasional and oftentimes unexpected opportunities to find new bird watching encounters. Just last week, for example, I was made aware of the second pair of nesting bald eagles located right here in Box Elder County. Both of these
Two Active Bald Eagle Nests Within 5 Miles Of The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Read More »
If there is something I love more than photographing and writing about birds and the natural world I for sure don’t know what it would be. Years and years ago during my college days, trust me it was long before the internet was even a vague idea in somebody’s head, I dreamed about being an
Why Bear River Blogger Hasn’t Been Posting Much Lately Read More »
Bird watching on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, especially on the refuge auto tour route, starts to really get going in April and May and today was proof of that. I spent a couple of hours driving the auto loop this afternoon and was quite impressed with how many different species of birds have
Today was such a nice day I just had to get out and take advantage of the sun and warm temperature on a nature walk somewhere. And on days like this, there is only one rule to follow, there will be no photographing from the vehicle today, mind you. It’s all on foot, as it
Just How Do Butterflies Warm-Up Anyways? Read More »
Last week, when I was watching a pair of sandhill cranes feeding just a few short yards from the roadway at Farmington Bay WMA I was reminded of an interesting fact about birds regarding their eyelids. I was so close to these sandhill cranes, less than 10 feet away at one point, that I could
Do Birds Really Have Three Eyelids? Read More »
Let’s talk spring bird watching on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge for a moment. Without a doubt, today was the most active bird-wise I have seen the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route since last year when fall migration was in full swing. Spring migration is starting to pick up a little
When it comes to the soothing sounds of nature, and trust me there are indeed plenty to choose from, nothing beats the melodic overture of a western meadowlark singing on a warm spring day. In fact, I’ll give you a full confession here showing to what degree I love the sights and sounds of a
The Sweet Song Of The Western Meadowlark Read More »
As I headed out the door this morning, a male cooper’s hawk caught my attention as it squawked a bit from its perch high up in one of my large backyard trees. Naturally, as a bird photographer, I had to run back inside and grab my camera to take a photo or two of the
The Cooper’s Hawk, A Forest Raptor That Can Actually Thrive In The City Read More »
I know this is mainly a blog about birds but bear with me and let’s talk about the coyote for a minute, more precisely the coyotes on Antelope Island. There is an interesting relationship between the coyote and the large flocks of ducks that visit the Great Salt Lake during winter I found to be
The Life Of A Coyote On Antelope Island Isn’t Always An Easy One Read More »
If you were to ask me what bird I love seeing in my backyard more than any other, without any hesitation I would say the great horned owl. Over the course of the last 22 years or so, I have seen plenty of these strikingly beautiful birds perched during the day in many of the
Where Do Great Horned Owls Nest? Read More »
Today, while traversing the small town of Corinne, Utah I came across an old cornfield with a thousand or more snow geese feeding on the waste grain. March is the best time to see the snow geese in Utah and they are now showing up in good numbers in Corinne, a small farming town just
Getting right to it, I have a proposal for the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and it stems from something that occurred to me this very day as I was heading down Forest Street to take a drive around the auto tour route. Each and every winter I find numerous American kestrels on Forest Street,
I was on my way down Forest Street this morning to check on the tundra swan migration but I was temporalily distracted when numerous male red-winged blackbirds lined the roadside fence posts and were singing their sweet song as if it was their duty to somehow try and deter me from my chosen destination, the
The Red-winged Blackbirds Are Starting To Sing On The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Read More »
