Black-headed Grosbeak in the Wasatch Mountains

Female or immature Black-headed Grosbeak in the Wasatch Mountains – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

While I was photographing a Belted Kingfisher family three days ago in the Wasatch Mountains I also photographed other birds and wildlife that I found in the same location. My subjects included a baby Muskrat, a fledgling Song Sparrow, Cedar Waxwings, Gray Catbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, a Mallard duckling and a Black-headed Grosbeak.

I was terribly torn at one point because I heard a Downy Woodpecker calling and then saw it land on a chokecherry tree in front of me and then immediately heard the call of a Black-headed Grosbeak behind where I sat in my Jeep using it as a mobile blind. It was hard to pick which bird to go after. I decided to photograph the Black-headed Grosbeak because I don’t seem to have as many opportunities with them as I would like and I didn’t have to move my vehicle to photograph it. I just needed to twist my body like a pretzel to get locked onto the grosbeak. Which I did.

Until I posted links to the recording of the calls of Downy Woodpeckers and Black-headed Grosbeaks I had never noticed the similarities in their calls, the calls sound alike enough to each other that to an untrained ear they might be confusing.

My first instinct about the age of the Black-headed Grosbeak was that it was an immature bird but there are identification complexities with this species of grosbeak because both sexes of immature Black-headed Grosbeaks look like adult females plus the immature males take two years to obtain breeding plumage and during their first year on their breeding grounds they can look either like a female or a male.

So I have labeled this Black-headed Grosbeak as female/immature. I’m certain an expert like Peter Pyle could tell the difference but I’ve had limited experience with this species and I don’t feel comfortable assigning an age or gender. I don’t assign a sex when I write about birds or animals unless I am positive about the gender of my subject.

Adult male Black-headed Grosbeak foraging – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

I shared this photo on my blog and photo galleries a few years ago which shows an adult male in breeding plumage foraging in a flowering shrub in Montana to compare with the image at the top of this post. It is quite easy to identify this Black-headed Grosbeak as an adult male.

I was happy that I decided to photograph the striking Black-headed Grosbeak instead of the Downy Woodpecker that was at least fifty feet in front of me. When I pulled forward to see if the Downy Woodpecker was still in the chokecherry tree it had already flown off to parts unknown.

Life is good. Stay safe.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Black-headed Grosbeak photos plus facts and information about this species.