Finches and Allies

Families: Fringillidae, Passeridae, Ploceidae, Estrilididae

Finches are small to medium sized birds with pointed wings, notched tails, stout bills, and distinctive flight calls. Female finches can be quite plain while males can be quite colorful.

Pine Siskin Close Up Photos

By |August 11th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Pine Siskins, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I am always glad when a bird unexpectedly flies in so that I can take close up photos because close ups show so much fine detail in their plumage and that is what happened earlier this week with a Pine Siskin.

American Goldfinch Perched on a dried Musk Thistle Blossom & Short Video Clip

By |July 27th, 2018|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Video, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today I am keeping it short and sweet and sharing one photo of a male American Goldfinch perched on a dried Musk Thistle blossom plus a short video clip I took of him as he lifted off and flew away.

Male American Goldfinch Feasting On Musk Thistle Seeds

By |July 7th, 2018|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wildflowers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A flash of yellow, black and white on a purple flower immediately drew my eyes to a male American Goldfinch feasting on the seeds of a Musk Thistle so I stopped, turned my Jeep off and proceeded to photograph the bird.

Focusing On American Goldfinches Feeding On Dandelion Seeds

By |May 26th, 2018|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Morgan County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The day I photographed the Green-tailed Towhee singing up in the mountain canyon I also had an opportunity to take a nice series of photos of what appeared to be a mated pair of American Goldfinches.

Male American Goldfinch in Breeding Plumage – Small in the Frame

By |May 11th, 2018|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Imagine a bird whose bright yellow feathers rival the rays of the sun then add a black forehead, ebony eyes, black and white wings and you have a male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage. Feathered sunshine.

Some of the Birds That People Love to Hate

By |March 11th, 2018|Categories: American Crows, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Common Ravens, Double-crested Cormorants, European Starlings, Fish Crows, Florida, House Sparrows, Laughing Gulls, Mallards|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Okay, that is enough for now, there are more birds that people love to hate but I can only deal with so much of it before I feel the need to get out and photograph all the birds I see, even those that other people despise.

American Goldfinch in Winter Plumage

By |January 27th, 2018|Categories: American Goldfinches, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I photographed a couple of American Goldfinches that morning too, as usual I heard the finches well before I spotted them foraging in some vegetation next to the auto tour route.

Treasury of American Goldfinches at Bear River MBR

By |November 28th, 2017|Categories: American Goldfinches, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week I found a small flock of American Goldfinches foraging on the auto tour route at Bear River MBR and I was able to capture a few images of them before they took off in a rush.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Goldfinch & American Tree Sparrow in Northern Utah

By |October 30th, 2017|Categories: American Goldfinches, American Tree Sparrows, Birds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I spent time photographing primarily small birds yesterday in northern Utah which included Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, American Goldfinches and American Tree Sparrows.

Autumn Pine Siskins at Farmington Bay WMA

By |September 22nd, 2017|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Pine Siskins, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I took this photo of two Pine Siskins in the autumn of 2015 as they perched together on a wild sunflower at Farmington Bay WMA where they appeared to be having a tiff over the seeds.

Male Cassin’s Finches Foraging in Beaverhead County, Montana

By |June 11th, 2017|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Cassin's Finches, Centennial Valley, Montana|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two years ago today I was in Beaverhead County, Montana photographing Cassin's Finches foraging on the seeds of dandelions on a morning that had sunshine and plenty of fog.

Mixture of Spring Birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By |April 13th, 2017|Categories: American Pipits, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Clark's Grebes, House Sparrows, Marsh Wrens, Red-winged Blackbirds, Savannah Sparrows, Utah, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was so happy to photograph this mixture of spring birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge that I had a hard time picking out which birds and which photos to share.

Male Cassin’s Finch in Clark County, Idaho

By |June 18th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Cassin's Finches, Clark County, Idaho, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

At times the male Cassin's Finch looked like he was on alert but I can't be sure why, it might have been because of the other finches nearby or that he was keeping an eye out for predators in the sky.

Cassin’s Finches of the Centennial Valley of Montana

By |June 12th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Cassin's Finches, Centennial Valley, Montana|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Cassin's Finch males look to me like they have been dipped in raspberry juice and that color is very vibrant especially in sweet light.

West Desert Medley of Birds

By |April 22nd, 2015|Categories: Birds, Cassin's Finches, Chipping Sparrows, Horned Larks, Red-tailed Hawks, Say's Phoebes, Spotted Towhees, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday was a delight in the West Desert because there were plentiful birds to photograph including this male Spotted Towhee singing on its territory.

Gunlock State Park, a few birds and Mojave Joshua Trees

By |October 13th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Gunlock State Park, House Finches, Mojave Desert, Red-tailed Hawks, Trees, Utah, Washington County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I enjoyed my journey to Beaver Dam Wash, Gunlock State Park and the Mojave Desert even though I didn't see the birds I hoped to photograph, every journey is an adventure.

Bouquet of Black Rosy-Finches at Capitol Reef National Park

By |March 18th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Black Rosy-Finches, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

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.

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