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My Best Bird Photo from 2016 |
f
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(Please
do not use these photos without the permission of the photographer).
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Suzi Holt
©Suzy Holt
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Broad-billed Hummingbird- Hurricane Utah. This little gem showed
up months ago in Washington County and has been so fun to
photograph. He should be spending the winter in Mexico not
Hurricane Utah. But September Smith has kept him fed with a warm
feeder for months now and he continues to excite those of us
here in Utah!
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Jeremy Telford
©Jeremy Telford
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Great Horned Owl- Farmington Bay
While the bird itself is not terribly uncommon, my 9 year old son and I
went out one cold November morning specifically looking for owls only to
have this one land less than twenty feet away and eye level. And of
course anytime I can get my son out birding with me will automatically
make it more special.
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Connie Misket
©Connie Misket
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I got my camera on December 29th, so with my very minimal selection of
2016 photos to choose from... this Woodhouse's Scrub Jay was really fun.
It was the first day he discovered my peanut ring feeder. He promptly
emptied it and then sat on the deck railing, and looked like he was
hoping I'd refill it for him.
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Kristin Alana Telford
©Kristin Alana Telford
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My husband was able to attend one of the field trips last year and soon
after took me to the same places. As we were on our way to look for
Bobolinks, a Sage Thrasher landed and posed on a fence post right next
to my open window. Of course I obliged it by taking numerous photos.
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Daniel Lindhardt
©Daniel Lindhardt
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I had a few I'm pretty happy with, but I like the action of this dark
colored red-tailed hawk combined with the less common nature of the bird
it self. I think it's my favorite.
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Eric
Peterson
©Eric Peterson
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If I can only pick one from last year that is tough. Last year
was a rough year for me battling cancer but I did find time to
take some images. This one is taken with my good friend Jeff. We
were at warm springs on a February morning and found these
mountain bluebirds feasting on Russian olive berries. I was
lucky enough to snag this picture.
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Mike
Hearell
©Mike Hearell
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As I quickly scanned my images I figured I would eventually pick
an owl photo. Enjoyed watching this "guy" hunting an exposed
rock face after a snow storm last February. Northern
Pygmy-owl, Weber County.
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Leena Rogers
©Leena Rogers
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My favorite photo from 2016: A handsome Cooper's Hawk was
scouting out our feeders one December morning. Stayed around for
about half an hour. It was pretty cold. He kept one of his
talons tucked inside his feathers while he sat on the fence.
There were dozens of sparrows in the yard as he flew in, but he
didn't seem to have much success in catching his lunch. So no
carnage that time!
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Tricia Sperry Jensen
©Donel Jensen
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This is my husband, Donel Jensen's photo. It's a Cassin's
Finch. He saw it up Diamond Fork. I think it was a new life
bird, which is always exciting. He said he really liked this
photo as it shows off the Finch's red well. He would never toot
his own horn, but I think he's a pretty good photographer and
birder so I decided to post it!
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Jeff
Cooper
©Jeff Cooper
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Well, 2016 was not a heavy birding year for me, but I did enjoy
the times I did get out. I had some fun trips out of state that
produced some exciting encounters and fun images, but I think
one of my favorite images from the year was captured right from
my backdoor during spring migration. We had our door open with
the screen closed when I heard a flycatcher calling. My thought
I was crazy when I stopped what I was doing and ran for my
camera. It was a great yard bird considering how far I am from
the right habitat, but that is the magic of spring
migration--birds stop in unexpected places as they rest and
refuel for their flights to breeding grounds. A flycatcher that
prefers arid brushy habitats won't often be seen in an eastern
redbud tree in your backyard. Gray Flycatcher. I'm just
not sure which pose I prefer.
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Jesse Lee
©Jesse Lee
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My wife and son captured this photo of an American redstart
in our backyard, though I never got to see it!
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Neil Paprocki
©Neil Paprocki
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So many great memories in Utah this year, but here is one of a
Lewis's Woodpecker last winter in Wayne County.
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Doc Hansen
©Doc Hansen
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I have taken many photos that I liked in 2016 of barn owls,
hawks, eagles, shorebirds, etc but the one I have included
always makes me smile. It is of three cinnamon teal
napping on a log while standing on one leg with reflections.
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Nicole Byrd Christensen
©Nicole Byrd Christensen
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I had my first ever backyard hawk visitor this past year. I saw
the Sharp-shinned Hawk perched on my fence of my small
backyard of my condo. I took pictures through my dirty window,
but then decided to slowly open my back door and take better
pictures. It didn’t seem to mind my presence and let me
photograph it from my back porch for a little while when it was
only about 10 feet away.
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September Smith
©September Smith
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So hard to choose one, even though most of my pics are from
"yard birding". Since Suzi already
honored "my" BBHU with her nice pic I've got to still give a
shout out to another hummer. I sure do miss having this little
Costa's this year. He stopped by (I assume it is the same bird,
so you can humor me, since I had previously had a single male
Costa's
reside in my yard for 3 winters before this one) this fall but
I'm convinced the BBHU scare him out of the territory. lol I've
got another pic of an Orange-crowned Warbler from this fall that
I love too since it's sort of quirky and a bird I don't see here
very often. Love seeing everyone's pics..
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Mark Stackhouse
©Mark Stackhouse
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The Long-tailed Jaeger at Sand Hollow last May was a new
Utah bird for me, so this gets the nod from the relatively few
pictures of birds in Utah that I took last year. Oddly, I also
saw my first Long-tailed Jaeger for my Mexico list last year, in
November.
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