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I’ve photographed this diversion dam a number of times, but the light was pretty lovely last night after the sun had set. Here are three versions of the same location with differing amounts of color left in the sky and reflected moonlight.

Fall River Diversion Dam, Chester, ID 2015 (version 1)

Fall River Diversion Dam, Chester, ID 2015 (version 2)

Fall River Diversion Dam, Chester, ID 2015 (version 3)

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is in the appalachian mountains of central-eastern Pennsylvania. The sanctuary contains an education center, hiking trails, and a hawk watch. Every fall professional hawk counters count the number of migrating hawks from the north overlook at Hawk Mountain.

Hawk Watching at the North Overlook, Hawk Mountain, PA 2015

Views from the North Overlook, Hawk Mountain, PA 2015

Dusk from the South Overlook, Hawk Mountain, PA 2015

Sunrise from the South Overlook, Hawk Mountain, PA 2015

The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge protects more than 47,000 acres of southern New Jersey coastal habitats which is actively managed for migratory birds. It is a great place to view shorebirds, songbirds, wading birds, and waterfowl.

Salt Marsh with Great Egrets and Atlantic City, Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, NJ 2015

Salt Marsh Vegetation, Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, NJ 2015

Salt Marsh Overlook (with binoculars), Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, NJ 2015

Salt Marsh Overlook, Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, NJ 2015

Cape May, New Jersey is among the most productive and celebrated birding destinations in North America. The combination of geography, weather, bird populations, and location combine to provide prime birding. The spectacle of migration, particularly in fall, can be hard to beat. I visited and photographed several destinations in Cape May including: Higbee Dike, Higbee Fields, The Hawk Watch platform at Cape May Point State Park, and the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge.

Birders at Higbee Dike, Cape May, NJ 2015 

Higbee Fields, Cape May, NJ 2015

Woods and Ocean near Higbee Beach, Cape May, NJ 2015

Forest Interior, Higbee Beach, Cape May, NJ 2015

Sunrise at Sunset Beach, Cape May, NJ 2015

View from the Hawk Watch Platform, Cape May Point State Park, Cape May, NJ 2015

I had the opportunity to help lead a student trip to Washington DC last week. We took art students from BYU-Idaho and visited art museums, and other sites in Washington DC. After the students went home I stayed to make some photographs of birding landscapes in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

My first visit was a couple of birding destinations in Delaware. Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge protects one of the largest remaining expanses of tidal salt marsh in the mid-Atlantic region.

Salt Marsh, Bombay Hook, Delaware 2015

Slaughter Beach is a stronghold for Red Knots, which arrive in the spring to gorge themselves on huge concentrations of Horseshoe Crab eggs.

Dupont Nature Center, Slaughter Beach, Delaware 2015

Clearing Storm, Slaughter Beach, DE 2015 (no. 1)

Clearing Storm, Slaughter Beach, DE 2015 (no. 2)

I’ve slowly started a new project. I’m photographing birding destinations in North America. I’m using ebird, the American Birding Association’s birding page, and various other resources to locate areas that are important to birds and birding. When visiting the destinations, I’m trying to photograph characteristic views of the places. I anticipate the project to take several years to complete. So far I’ve made a few photographs in Idaho, Utah, along the gulf coast, and along the Oregon coast. I have plans to visit Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania this month.

I’m not yet sure yet what the images will ultimately be about. They will all obviously have the common theme of birding, but I’m hopeful there will be other associations. How will the work be viewed by non-birders? Some of the places are spectacular, some of the places are very ordinary, and some are an eyesore. I’m interested to see how it will all come together. Stay tuned.

I’ve got a web gallery under construction that can be viewed here: http://www.darrenclarkphoto.com/north-american-birding.html. It requires a password to view right now, which is: Birding

Anyway, here are a few efforts from a visit to Antelope Island, Utah I made over the weekend.

Antelope Island Causeway, UT 2015

Mud Flat with American Avocets, Antelope Island, UT 2015 

Great Salt Lake with Phalaropes and Waterfowl, Antelope Island, UT 2015

Mule Deer Statue, Antelope Island, UT 2015

Along the Causeway, Antelope Island, UT 2015

Mud Lake is a town, a wildlife management area, and a lake in eastern Idaho. The lake is fairly large, shallow, muddy, and full of bugs and birds. It is a place I visit frequently to look at birds and to make photographs. Here are a few recent photographs from a couple of excursions.

Mud Lake(from West Dike), ID 2015

Midge Swarm at Mud Lake, ID 2015

Western Grebe Pair, Mud Lake, ID 2015

Magpie Nest, Mud Lake, ID 2015

Camas Creek at Mud Lake, ID 2015

Grand Isle, Louisiana is a small island in SE Louisiana. It is primarily a fishing destination. It is also a place where locals own or rent vacation homes. It is one of the few accessible beaches in Louisiana. It is also an excellent birding destination. Grand Isle combines open ocean, sandy beaches, marsh, and coastal woodlots. This mix of habitats attracts a large number of birds to Grand Isle, particularly during spring and fall migration. Below are a few photographs made of the beach and woods on the island.

Rain Puddle (during a rainstorm) Sureway Woods, Grand Isle, LA 2015

Live Oaks and Rain Puddle, Grand Isle, LA 2015

Live Oak (detail), Grand Isle, LA 2015

Gulf of Mexico from Grand Isle, LA 2015

Cameron, Louisiana is a small town that was decimated by Hurricane Rita in 2005. It was and continues to be a destination for birding. There is a mix of marsh, coastal woods, beaches, mud flats, and prairie that combine to provide an interesting mix of habitats. It is also a destination for hunting, fishing, and oil drilling/refining. This post showcases a variety of photographs made in and around the town of Cameron, LA.

Welcome to Cameron, Cameron, LA 2015

Cameron Motel Parking Lot (with Boat-tailed Grackle), Cameron, LA 2015

Holly Beach, Cameron Parish, LA 2015

Cameron Jetty, Cameron, LA 2015

Sunrise through Fog, Nunez Woods, Grand Chenier, LA 2015

Sunrise through Fog, Nunez Woods, Grand Chenier, LA 2015 (no. 2)

Sunrise through Fog, Nunez Woods, Grand Chenier, LA 2015 (no. 3)

Peveto Woods is a small bird sanctuary located in SW Louisiana in Cameron Parish. It is a chenier (slightly elevated oak woods on the gulf coast) forest. When conditions are favorable (north winds, rain etc.) migrant songbirds crossing the Gulf of Mexico will land in the first trees they see. This small group of trees can be teeming with migrants during an event birders call a fallout, or (like on the day we visited) they can be essentially vacant of birds. Either way, these coastal woodlots are an important habitat and there are few accessible chenier woods left that birders can enjoy. Many have been developed, are in the hands of private landowners, or are inaccessible due to their location (surrounded by impenetrable marsh). Places like Peveto Woods, High Island (Texas), and Dauphin Island (Alabama) are critical to the survival of migratory songbirds and are national treasures.

Sunrise at Little Florida Beach, Cameron Parish, LA 2015

Mostly Dead Live Oaks, Peveto Woods, LA 2015

Backlit Oaks at Sunrise, Peveto Woods, LA 2015

Peveto Woods, LA 2015

Live Oak (vertical), Peveto Woods, LA 2015

Live Oak (horizontal), Peveto Woods, LA 2015