nesting cavity

Tree Swallows Have Migrated Into Northern Utah

By |2024-03-25T06:57:17-05:00March 25th, 2024|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, High Uintas, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Summit County, Tree Swallows, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Over the weekend, I read on Facebook that Tree Swallows have migrated back into Northern Utah for their breeding season. I am so excited about that news!

Red-headed Woodpecker Photos From Sequoyah NWR

By |2023-07-20T05:22:46-05:00July 20th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Oklahoma, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

These Red-headed Woodpecker photos were taken last month at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. I had one great day with this species in two spots on the refuge.

Tree Swallow Nesting In An Aspen

By |2024-03-25T04:59:35-05:00June 8th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Tree Swallows, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While up high in the Uinta Mountains yesterday morning I photographed this female Tree Swallow checking out a nesting cavity in a Quaking Aspen.

Male Northern Flicker Images

By |2022-05-04T05:40:32-05:00May 4th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Northern Flickers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I am sharing a few male Northern Flicker images that I took seven years ago at the edge of a mountain forest in the Targhee National Forest in Idaho.

Violet-green Swallow Photos

By |2021-05-27T04:56:39-05:00May 27th, 2021|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday I was able to take the Violet-green Swallow photos that I have been dreaming of since I first moved to Utah in 2009.

Red-naped Sapsucker Photos

By |2021-04-11T06:10:38-05:00April 11th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Modoc Creek, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Summit County, Targhee National Forest, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I wanted to share a few Red-naped Sapsucker photos I have taken while in gorgeous alpine forests of Idaho and Utah. 

Tree Swallows Have Returned

By |2024-03-25T07:54:11-05:00March 23rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Idaho, Modoc Creek, Summit County, Targhee National Forest, Tree Swallows, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A little birdie told me that Tree Swallows returned to the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge about the middle of this month.

Tree Swallows Nesting In The Uinta Mountains

By |2024-03-25T07:42:35-05:00May 25th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Tree Swallows, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Tree Swallows and other birds should be nesting in the Uinta Mountains by now and I am itching to hop into my Jeep to drive up there to find them.

Focusing On House Wrens

By |2024-02-26T07:39:46-06:00May 18th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Clark County, House Wrens, Idaho, Morgan County, Targhee National Forest, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

To photograph House Wrens and other birds I know I need to find them which means focusing my attention on the sights and sounds around me whenever I am out in the field which has worked extremely well for me.

Nesting Northern Flickers Provide Nests For Other Birds

By |2024-03-07T14:34:56-06:00May 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Northern Flickers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

By excavating their own nests Northern Flickers provide nests for other woodland birds that can't excavate nesting cavities on their own and those nests can be used over and over again. Nature is brilliant.

Nesting Mountain Bluebirds And Other Woodland Birds

By |2024-03-29T08:28:24-05:00April 30th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Chipping Sparrows, House Wrens, Mountain Bluebirds, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday I had a blast photographing a pair of Mountain Bluebirds at a natural nesting cavity at the edge of a forest along with some other woodland birds. 

Adult Male Red-naped Sapsucker With Food For His Chicks

By |2021-04-11T06:05:04-05:00April 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Modoc Creek, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The adult Red-naped Sapsuckers often clung to the entrance to the nesting cavity for a few seconds before they went inside with the food they had gathered to give to their chicks.

Photographing Nesting Williamson’s Sapsuckers

By |2023-11-02T07:11:29-05:00April 6th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Targhee National Forest, Williamson's Sapsuckers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

For one and a half wonderful nesting seasons I was thrilled to photograph a pair of mated Williamson's Sapsuckers excavating a nest and tending to their young.

Visions Of Spring And Nesting House Wrens

By |2024-02-26T07:11:53-06:00January 30th, 2020|Categories: Birds, House Wrens, Summit County, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

These nesting House Wren photos were taken two years ago at the end of May high up in the Uinta Mountains where stands of aspens are used as nesting trees.

Picture This: Utah Could Lose Our Mountain Bluebirds

By |2024-03-29T07:28:23-05:00August 12th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Conservation, Environment, Idaho, Mountain Bluebirds, Summit County, Targhee National Forest, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Our current climate crisis could mean Utah might lose our Mountain Bluebirds and it is not just us, it is Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming that will also be affected if action isn't taken now.

Nesting House Wrens And A Closed Gate

By |2024-02-26T09:18:24-06:00May 1st, 2019|Categories: Birds, House Wrens, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I tried to get up into a canyon in the Stansbury Mountains yesterday but was met with a closed gate so I turned my Jeep around and decided that I would explore a different canyon.

Photographic Frustrations – Red-naped Sapsuckers in the Targhee National Forest

By |2021-04-11T06:37:58-05:00July 11th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Frustrations in bird photography, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One year ago today I experienced one of the two most frustrating days in my entire time of being a bird photographer while photographing Red-naped Sapsuckers in the Targhee National Forest of Idaho.

Nesting Tree Swallows in the High Uintas

By |2024-03-25T07:06:26-05:00June 3rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Tree Swallows, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

While I photographed nesting House Wrens in the High Uintas the last day of May I also photographed nesting Tree Swallows in the same Aspen tree in a cavity a bit lower on the trunk.

Photographing Nesting House Wrens in the High Uintas

By |2024-02-26T06:57:11-06:00June 2nd, 2018|Categories: House Wrens, Nesting Birds, Summit County, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago I spent time photographing nesting House Wrens in the high Uintas near Mirror Lake Highway, of interest to me is that two years ago I photographed Red-naped Sapsuckers using this same nesting cavity.

Red-breasted Nuthatches and Their Nesting Cavities

By |2024-03-12T07:50:50-05:00May 7th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Right now Red-breasted Nuthatches should be looking for or excavating nesting cavities here in northern Utah which means I should take a trip up to the back roads in the mountains soon and see if I can locate some closer to home than Idaho or Montana.

Photographing a Male Northern Flicker Excavating a Nesting Cavity

By |2024-03-07T15:00:33-06:00March 23rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Nesting Birds, Northern Flickers, Targhee National Forest, Wildlife Ethics|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I dug into my archives and picked these Northern Flicker photos from May of 2015 to share today because I saw a Northern Flicker yesterday and thought of how they will soon start excavating their nesting cavities to rear their young in.

Perched male Red-naped Sapsucker in Idaho’s Targhee National Forest

By |2021-04-11T06:06:33-05:00December 4th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This Red-naped Sapsucker was perched on a dead aspen branch near the nesting cavity where I photographed a chick being fed by the adults in mid July.

Red-naped Sapsucker Diving Away From Nesting Cavity

By |2021-04-11T06:46:07-05:00August 16th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I did find one jewel in the images, a photo of one of the adult Red-naped Sapsuckers flying away from the nesting cavity looking like a bullet.

Adult Red-naped Sapsucker Feeding its Chick at the Nesting Cavity

By |2021-04-11T06:50:10-05:00July 14th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Although photographing the Red-naped Sapsuckers at the nesting cavity has been frustrating at times it has also been very rewarding to observe all the action of the sapsucker family.

Targhee National Forest Red-naped Sapsucker Feeding Young

By |2021-04-11T06:59:25-05:00July 12th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Jackpot and frustrations... I'll explain the jackpot first and get to the frustrations later about the Targhee National Forest Red-naped Sapsucker feeding its young.

Red-naped Sapsucker in the Uinta Mountains

By |2021-04-11T07:02:24-05:00July 7th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Summit County, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This male Red-naped Sapsucker was photographed last year in the high Uintas, a mountain range that is east of Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Mountains I can see from where I live.

Sapsuckers, Bluebirds and Nuthatches and the Magical Sapsucker Tree

By |2024-03-04T11:08:44-06:00May 3rd, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Mountain Bluebirds, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Targhee National Forest, Williamson's Sapsuckers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two years ago today I was in the Targhee National Forest of Clark County, Idaho photographing birds at what I called the "Magical Sapsucker Tree".

Red-naped Sapsucker Showing Its Tongue

By |2021-04-11T07:12:47-05:00August 28th, 2016|Categories: Birds, High Uintas, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Summit County, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I came across this image and realized that the Red-naped Sapsucker had its tongue stuck out and I hadn't noticed that before.

Red-naped Sapsuckers Feeding Chicks at a Nesting Cavity in the Uintas

By |2021-04-11T07:17:57-05:00June 29th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Summit County, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Finding Red-naped Sapsuckers feeding chicks at a nesting cavity in the Uintas made my day!

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