Black Rosy-Finches – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or called in
One of the biggest surprises for me on my recent trip to southern Utah was coming across a “bouquet” of 500 or more Black Rosy-Finches that were foraging along the side of Utah State Highway 24.
The lighting was horrible and at first I could not ID the birds because of them being in the shade. The fact that the finches were moving very quickly made it even harder. As soon as I was able to scope them out with my lens I said “Black Rosy-Finches!”
Lifers! Eureka!
During the breeding season Black Rosy-Finches (Leucosticte atrata) are found at elevations of over 10,000 feet but they do winter at lower elevations. The flock I saw apparently hadn’t started to move to their breeding grounds.
As I mentioned the birds moved very quickly and stayed primarily in the shade so I wasn’t able to get close up images or even images of high quality. But I was entranced by the small birds and hope that one day I will be able to get the images I now long for of these small beautiful birds.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my bird ph0tos in their galleries.
They are very lovely, but always difficult to see their color, as they are constantly in motion. You caught them so beautifully. A good place to see them during nesting season is the Beartooth Highway east of Yellowstone, where they nest in rocky cliffs near the summits. Since the highway goes over 11,000 feet, it doesn’t involve lugging camera gear to great heights :).
Pretty darned cute! Lucky catch…
A special sighting and photo. I was hoping to see them on our recent trip, but no luck.
Beautiful birds and photo!
How many birdies! Beautiful picture 🙂
What a wonderful bouquet to receive – and share. Thank you.
congratulations are in order.A nice looking bird.
Beautiful image(s), I really enjoy your blog!
Thanks for introducing me to this beauty, who has a yellow bill in winter and a black bill in summer (Kaufman Field Guide). Love the rocky background.
Congratulations on the lifer Mia! I have been trying for years now to see their sister species, the Gray-crowned Rosy-finch, that frequents the high snow fields of Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Wow! Congrats on the lifers. How long did it take for you to calm down afterwards?