Orioles, Meadowlarks and Blackbirds

Photographing Winter Birds

By |January 15th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Bald Eagles, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Canvasbacks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.

2020 Photographic Year In Review

By |December 31st, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Bushtits, Common Loons, Cooper’s Hawks, Desert Tarantulas, Eastern Kingbirds, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagles, Gray Catbirds, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Green-tailed Towhees, Merlins, Mountain Bluebirds, Nashville Warblers, Northern Harriers, Pine Siskins, Red Foxes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red-tailed Hawks, Ring-billed Gulls, Rusty Blackbirds, Short-eared Owls, Townsend's Solitaires, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Wildflowers, Yellow Warblers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.

Finding Two Uncommon Birds In One Week – Rusty Blackbird And Common Grackle

By |December 5th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Common Grackles, Davis County, Rusty Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Finding two uncommon birds this week at the same olive tree really has me buzzed and to finally see a Rusty Blackbird has made me feel like jumping over the moon.

Brewer’s Blackbird Males Are Colorful In The Right Light

By |November 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

In the right light Brewer's Blackbird males are very colorful because their feathers glow with blue, green, and purple iridescence.

Barbed Wire Death Trap – Western Meadowlark

By |October 15th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Over the past month I thought about whether I wanted to share images and tell the story of this Western Meadowlark that lost its life because of a barbed wire death trap and finally decided that the story needed to be told.

Male Brewer’s Blackbird And Thoughts On Changes

By |September 19th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I look at this seasonal change as a personal challenge to grow, to adapt and to meet my bird photography goals. I'm looking forward to the challenges and changes ahead.

Female Brown-headed Cowbird In A Serviceberry

By |June 17th, 2020|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Morgan County, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Savannah Sparrows, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Three days ago one of the birds that the Song Sparrows chased off was an adult female Brown-headed Cowbird that landed on a serviceberry in front of me.

Western Meadowlark Walking Through A Puddle

By |March 12th, 2020|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

What I like about this photo was the reflection of the Western Meadowlark, the still water, the one raised foot and the curvy edges of the puddle. I feel drawn into the frame.

Adult Male Red-winged Blackbird Take Off

By |March 4th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I took this photo of an adult male Red-winged Blackbird taking off this morning with the distant snow covered Promontory Mountains in the background.

Male Red-winged Blackbirds Are Displaying On Territory

By |February 22nd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago there were plenty of male Red-winged Blackbirds singing and putting on displays in the marshy areas of Farmington Bay WMA.

Male Brewer’s Blackbird Close Up

By |October 12th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning I was able to take close up images of a male Brewer's Blackbird in the kind of light that showed all of its beautiful iridescent colors with the silky blue water of a pond in the background.

Male Red-winged Blackbird On A Sunflower Perch

By |October 2nd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Autumn is a time when the seeds of many plants that the Red-winged Blackbirds feed upon have ripened and the birds are taking full advantage of the season's bounty and spend a large part of their days foraging.

Goofy Looking Upside Down Displaying Male Brown-headed Cowbird

By |July 5th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This photo of a displaying male Brown-headed Cowbird in a goofy upside down pose is not a good photo technically but I absolutely love the behavior it shows.

Five Male Yellow-headed Blackbird Images From The Marsh At Bear River MBR

By |May 29th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I wanted to share a five image series of a male Yellow-headed Blackbird that I photographed in the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge this morning that I took the second week of May.

Some Of The Birds Seen At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge During The Month of May

By |May 19th, 2019|Categories: American Avocets, American Bitterns, American Coots, American White Pelicans, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Blue-winged Teals, Box Elder County, Brown-headed Cowbirds, California Gulls, Cinnamon Teals, Clark's Grebes, Cliff Swallows, Forster's Terns, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitchers, Marsh Wrens, Northern Shovelers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Ruddy Ducks, Savannah Sparrows, Tree Swallows, Utah, Western Grebes, White-faced Ibises, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

May is a time of renewal at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and as the marsh begins to green up the migrant birds return and along with the year round residents their songs and calls can be heard over the wetlands.

Female Yellow-headed Blackbird Foraging On The Ground At Bear River MBR

By |May 16th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

The fore and background of this image may be messy or cluttered looking but I love the way this photo shows the female Yellow-headed Blackbird in the habitat I find them in at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

Western Meadowlark Photos With Signs Of Spring Growth

By |April 8th, 2019|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

The birds I heard and saw on the island with the most frequency were Western Meadowlarks, most of them were too far away or too skittish to photograph but one of them was cooperative and I was grateful for that.

Red-winged Blackbird Male Singing In January

By |January 31st, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , |

It has been nearly a year since I posted any photos of Red-winged Blackbirds and since I took photos of a cooperative, sticky male yesterday I thought I should rectify that situation and share two photos here this morning.

2018 Year In Review For On The Wing Photography

By |December 31st, 2018|Categories: Baltimore Orioles, Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, California Gulls, Cedar Waxwings, Northern Mockingbirds, Peregrine Falcons, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Say's Phoebes, Tundra Swans, Wild Turkeys, Yellow Warblers, Yellow-bellied Marmots|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

All in all, as 2018 comes to a close I realize how fortunate I am to see all the birds that I do throughout the year as a bird photographer, to be able to do what I love and to love my feathered subjects too.

Female Great-tailed Grackle Portrait In Afternoon Light

By |November 20th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Great-tailed Grackles, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This female Great-tailed Grackle was the first bird I photographed yesterday and she was so close to me that I opted to take portraits of her in the nice afternoon light at my local pond.

Male Brewer’s Blackbird On A Fence Post With Fall Colors

By |November 1st, 2018|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago I had a male Brewer's Blackbird in my viewfinder near Glover Pond in Davis County, I photographed him as he perched on a fence post with fall colors in the background.

Feathers & Fur – Short-eared Owl, Shaking Brewer’s Blackbird and a Curious Long-tailed Weasel

By |October 25th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Long-tailed Weasels, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

So it wasn't a great morning but it wasn't all that bad either because I was able to focus on a Short-eared Owl, Brewer's Blackbirds and one curious Long-tailed Weasel.

Autumn Male Brewer’s Blackbird shaking after preening

By |October 18th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A male Brewer's Blackbird had been preening on a fence post when he started to shake his feathers and that action sure showed his iridescent plumage off nicely.

Male Brewer’s Blackbird Bathing and Splashing Water

By |October 13th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Brewer's Blackbird seemed to be really throwing himself into his bath as he splashed around, dipping his head into the water then shaking his entire body as his head rose above the water.

My Rare Baltimore Oriole Sighting In Northern Utah

By |August 24th, 2018|Categories: Baltimore Orioles, Birds, Little Dutch Hollow, Morgan County, Rarities, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

I didn't go up into the Wasatch Mountains yesterday thinking I would find a rare bird but that is precisely what happened after I spotted a beautiful male Baltimore Oriole fly into a serviceberry bush in Morgan County.

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