Ruddy Duck Drake – What A Difference 20 Days Makes
Just 20 days can make a big difference in the way this Ruddy Duck drake looks. His bill is a lot bluer now than it was when I first saw him at my local pond.
Molting Immature Cedar Waxwing In Fall
I was tickled to photograph a molting immature Cedar Waxwing yesterday morning high in the Wasatch Mountains. The forest setting was quite messy.
Molting And Shaggy Immature Common Raven Portrait
I enjoyed photographing this molting, shaggy immature Common Raven yesterday morning while I was high in the Wasatch Mountains.
Kamas Valley Western Meadowlark With A Grasshopper
The first bird I photographed last week from the side of the road in the Kamas Valley was this scruffy Western Meadowlark with a grasshopper.
Immature Clark’s Grebe And A Mystery
I came across an immature Clark's Grebe on Monday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I took photos of the grebe because I could see something on its fluffy neck.
Raggedy Song Sparrow Adult
Friday morning while enjoying the cooler temps in the Wasatch Mountains I had this raggedy Song Sparrow adult pop out of a wild rose bush next to my Jeep.
Song Sparrow In Molt
Two days ago I photographed a molting Song Sparrow as it perched on an old wooden post high in a mountain canyon in beautiful morning light.
Worn Adult Green-tailed Towhee – Breeding Season Can Be Rough On Their Feathers
After a week at home because of smoky skies I ventured into the mountains and one of the first birds I photographed was this worn looking Green-tailed Towhee.
Subadult Peregrine Falcon
Last week before I found the Rock Wren I wrote about I also found a subadult Peregrine Falcon perched on a wooden post in the West Desert.
Immature White-crowned Sparrows On A Dreary Winter Day
Two days ago there were plenty of White-crowned Sparrows in the same area where I photographed two Spotted Towhees.
Male Spotted Towhees – One Immature And One Adult
Spotted Towhees are among the most colorful members of the sparrow family and I always enjoy photographing them on those occasions when they are out in the open.
Molting Immature Green-tailed Towhee
Green-tailed Towhees that hatched this year undergo a molt on or near their natal breeding grounds prior to fall migration.
Molting House Wren
About two weeks ago I photographed a molting House Wren high in the Wasatch Mountains as it perched near a willow thicket.
Messy, Molting Song Sparrow
This Song Sparrow will replace its damaged feathers quickly and will look like it normally does once again. Until then, I still think it is a beautiful, albeit somewhat ruffled, bird.
Sharp-shinned Hawk Perched And Preening
When it comes to accipiters I see Sharp-shinned Hawks less frequently than I do Cooper's Hawks or Northern Goshawks so when I have a Sharp-shinned Hawk in my viewfinder I become very excited.
Remarkably Symmetrical Molt In A Ring-Billed Gull
Not only was this Ring-billed Gull in molt it was molting in a remarkably symmetrical pattern which I found interesting. Because the gull was in flight the symmetry was very visible.
Molting American Goldfinch Feasting On Musk Thistle Seeds
One year ago today I went up into the Wasatch Mountains and for about three minutes I photographed a molting American Goldfinch feasting on Musk Thistle seeds.
Molting Yellow Warbler Male With A Stubby Little Tail
Some birds that are molting can look a little odd and this molting male Yellow Warbler with a stubby little tails fits that description perfectly.
Molting Black-capped Chickadee
This Black-capped Chickadee's plumage isn't in prime condition but I feel like my work as a bird photographer includes taking images of them looking great and not so great because it is all part of the cycle of their lives.
Hoping For More Photos Of Eared Grebes This Season
I have plenty of photos of Clark's, Western and Pied-billed Grebes but few of Eared Grebes and I am hoping that this breeding season I will be able to have more of these small grebes in my viewfinder.
Great Blue Heron With Some White Feathers In Its Dark Crown
The unusually colored feathers of this Great Blue Heron that I photographed on September 24th of this year caught my eyes because it has some white feathers in its crown where normally all the feathers are dark black.
Immature Cedar Waxwing in the Wasatch Mountains
I've been trying for over a month to get decent images of fledgling and juvenile Cedar Waxwings and hadn't succeeded but yesterday I was able to take a photograph of an immature waxwing that I actually like.
Molting Juvenile Spotted Towhee
This time of the year male and female Spotted Towhees have finished raising their broods and their young are learning how to be on their own but they do look a touch ragged as they molt into their adult plumage.
Focusing On Juvenile Gray Catbirds Learning To Be On Their Own
It was a lot of fun photographing adult Gray Catbirds earlier this year and photographing the juveniles learning to be on their own has been equally fun and entertaining.
Adult and Juvenile European Starlings in Fall Plumage
I have an alternate title for this post which is "Invasive European Starlings perched on invasive Russian Olives" because both the birds in this post and the trees are not native but introduced.
Immature Song Sparrow Sporting a Messy Look
Birds aren't always neat looking, feathers wear, birds molt and young birds transitioning from their juvenal plumage into adult plumage can look quite disheveled or messy.
Five Different Centennial Valley Red-tailed Hawks
Red-tailed Hawks were my most photographed species yesterday morning in the Centennial Valley of southwestern Montana and I had fun with them.
Two Months of Photographing a Cooperative Northern Harrier
There was a very cooperative first spring male Northern Harrier in a location where I photographed Short-eared Owls last year in northern Utah and for two months I could reliably see and photograph it frequently.
Molting One-Year-Old Red-tailed Hawk
I also keep images of birds that look a bit messy because they are molting even if they aren't up to my standards, like this one-year-old Red-tailed Hawk that was rapidly molting the end of July in 2015.
Ring-billed Gull In Earlier Than Normal Definitive Alternate Plumage
I start seeing some Ring-billed Gulls in breeding/Definitive Alternate Plumage in February but I sure didn't expect to see this one on the third day of January, I was quite surprised by it.