Last Monday I took my first autumn American Pipit photos of 2023 while I was on the auto tour loop at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I was so happy.
American Pipit in roadside grasses – Nikon D500, f8, 1/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I have been hearing American Pipits for weeks, but it wasn’t until last Monday that I was finally able to photograph a single pipit. I often hear these pipits before I see them, and that’s exactly what happened on Monday. Their soft calls clued me in on their location.
There were at least a dozen pipits foraging alongside the dirt road in the grasses when I found them. The pipits were fairly skittish but I was able to lock on to a few of them with my camera before they took flight.
Autumn American Pipit at Bear River MBR – Nikon D500, f8, 1/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
American Pipits can be found in northern Utah year round. During the summer, I rarely see or hear them because they breed and nest high up in alpine meadows. I always look forward to spotting them at lower elevations during the fall.
Where I find American Pipits in Autumn in Utah:
I see this species out on the mudflats, teetering on the tops of rocks, in open plowed fields, in marshes, playas, and at the edges of bodies of water.
This species is known as the “American Pipit” in North America and the “Buff-bellied Pipit” in Eurasia.
I didn’t have these pipits in my viewfinder for long because another vehicle came up behind me at the refuge. When I moved my Jeep over to the side of the auto tour route so the truck could pass me, the pipits lifted off and flew out onto a mudflat.
I was delighted to have them in my viewfinder for even a few moments.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my American Pipit photos plus facts and information about this species.
I do love your excitement at seeing the ‘birds of the season’ again. And these are as always delightful shots.
Nice captures, yes I have been hearing them too, I saw a good number the day I photographed the snipes but they flew off as my car approached.
For me it was either feast or famine with pipits. Sometimes “heard only” and once a flock of at least 100 birds, in Illinois. Nice collection of photos and info in your earlier blogs too.
Life is good; I can open your blog again! For some time, I’ve been getting security warnings of some sort. I did everything I knew, and kept thinking I’d contact you about it, but life being life, I never did. Whatever has changed, with your blog or with the mysterious cyber-systems that surround us, I’m grateful beyond words!