Orioles, Meadowlarks and Blackbirds

Male Red-winged Blackbird singing on a Mangrove

By |November 15th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Red-winged Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I don't if this male was successful with the female Red-winged Blackbirds but he sure had me mesmerized with his sleek black feathers and his flashing red, orange and yellow epaulets.

And We Have Lift Off!

By |June 30th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Horned Larks, Montana, Pinellas County, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Red-shouldered Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Swainson's Hawks, Utah, Western Meadowlarks, Willets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I wanted to share some bird lift off images today so I rounded up a few that showed different styles of lift offs.

Please… Give Nests And Chicks Respect

By |May 30th, 2013|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Chukars, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Nesting Birds, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Fluffy little chicks are adorable, they make people "ohh" and "aww" and those that hit the ground running not long after hatching are especially appealing to some folks. But they need respect and they need space so we don't endanger them.

Potpourri Of Birds From This Week

By |May 25th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, California Gulls, Chukars, Clark's Grebes, Davis County, Eastern Kingbirds, Forster's Terns, Lark Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Tooele County, Utah, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

These are but a few of the birds I photographed this week in various Utah locations and all of them made great subjects!

Bird Sampler for April 28 through May 4, 2013

By |May 4th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Burrowing Owls, Canada Geese, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Killdeer, Swallows, Utah, Western Grebes, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I wanted to share a sampler of bird images that I have taken over the past week in Davis and Box Elder Counties.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds Are Back In Numbers

By |April 19th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Utah, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Yellow-headed Blackbirds are filling the marshy areas of Utah with their odd mechanical calls once again as the males court the females for their annual spring fling.

A Lark, Or Two, Or Four

By |April 5th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Beaverhead County, Birds, Davis County, Horned Larks, Lark Buntings, Lark Sparrows, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Tooele County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The only native true lark that lives and breeds in North America is the Horned Lark.

Sounds of Spring – Western Meadowlark

By |March 13th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Normally we have Western Meadowlarks year round here in the Salt Lake Valley but because this past winter was harsh it seemed that they moved south for a bit. They are back now and singing their songs of spring.

Songs of Spring – Red-winged Blackbirds

By |March 2nd, 2013|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Fairly soon I'll be seeing many more of the male Red-winged Blackbirds perching at the top of rushes and cattails singing springtime serenades for the females and flashing their brilliantly colored epaulets

Some of the Birds I Love at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge

By |February 6th, 2013|Categories: American Avocets, American Barn Owls, American White Pelicans, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Black-necked Stilts, Box Elder County, Duck hybrids, Eastern Kingbirds, Forster's Terns, Marsh Wrens, Snowy Egrets, Swainson's Hawks, Tundra Swans, Utah, Western Grebes, Western Kingbirds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One of my favorite locations to photograph birds in northern Utah is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I've selected some of the birds there that delight and entertain me while I observe and photograph them.

600th post – An Antelope Island Snow Day

By |December 30th, 2012|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Chukars, Coyotes, Davis County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I wanted to share a few images taken two days ago when Antelope Island was covered with a fresh snow fall. The entire island looked glorious and the sunlight caused the snow to sparkle much to my delight.

Western Meadowlark lift off

By |December 18th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

This Western Meadowlark image was taken last month on Antelope Island State Park. I meant to post it earlier but forgot because I got so busy trying to set up my new computer. Life outside of bird photography does get in the way at times.

Pumpkin Patch Birds – Red-winged Blackbirds and White-crowned Sparrows

By |October 26th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

There is a rather large Pumpkin Patch near the road going to the Nature Center at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area where I like to photograph birds. They have a straw maze and all kinds of activities for children too.

One year ago today – Brewer’s Blackbird

By |October 18th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

One year ago today it was slow on Antelope Island, not many birds were close enough to photograph but on the way home I spotted this female Brewer's Blackbird on some rocks near one of the bridges on the causeway to the island.

You’ll never know unless you go

By |October 8th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Coyotes, Prairie Falcons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Kind a of a crazy title but it is a mantra that I live by when it comes to my bird and nature photography. It simply means that unless I go out shooting I won't know what I am missing.

Brewer’s Blackbirds Displaying and Nesting

By |May 13th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

While out on Antelope Island State Park on Friday I spotted a male Brewer's Blackbird on top of a bush, the light was just great for viewing and photographing the iridescent teals, blues, greens and purples that can show up on these "black" birds.

Western Meadowlark – Up close and personal

By |April 26th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

During the spring Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta) can be easy to locate and then approach because they spend so much time singing from the tops of boulders, bushes, posts and other manmade objects.

Yellow-headed Blackbird and a Midge

By |April 20th, 2012|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Midges, Utah, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) can perch on cattails, reeds, rushes or mounds of vegetation and snatch Midges right out of the air.

Lesson Learned – Beyond the Viewfinder

By |March 31st, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Chukars, Davis County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Had I not seen that moving, tan blob beyond my viewfinder I could have easily missed being able to create these Chukar images. Sure, I have hundreds (if not thousands) of Chukar images but I am always looking for different poses, light conditions and settings to photograph my subjects in and this worked out very well.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds – Friday Photos

By |March 30th, 2012|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yellow-headed Blackbirds have begun to show up in large numbers in my area of the country. I'm seeing them perched on cattails, phragmites and in flight.

Brewer’s Blackbirds

By |March 16th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Brewer's Blackbirds may not be the most well known of the Blackbird family; I am fairly certain that the Red-winged Blackbirds have that claim to fame, but they are beautiful and interesting subjects to photograph.

Red-winged Blackbirds

By |March 2nd, 2012|Categories: Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Red-winged Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Red-winged Blackbirds are birds that I associate with spring, the males begin calling perched on top of reeds, cattails, grasses and shrubs and flash their brightly colored coverts to attract a mate.

Western Meadowlarks and Spring

By |February 16th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Tis the season of changes, for a bit it acts like winter and soon switches to act like spring. . The flute like call of Western Meadowlarks is a sound I associate with spring and lately I have been hearing them quite often.

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