Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
Despite the difficulties I have finding and photographing MacGillivray's Warblers I will keep trying to take better images of them.
This morning I'm grateful that I spotted a single Gray Catbird pop up on top of a snowberry bush yesterday morning because if I hadn't none of the following photos would have been possible.
I know from experience that when I post Mallard photos and write about them here on my site that they don't seem to get as many views as other birds do.
When this adult male Yellow Warbler landed in a willow near me I was more than happy to photograph him surrounded by the willows.
Yesterday I saw this female Black-chinned Hummingbird land on a willow branch not far from where I sat in a mobile blind and I was delighted to photograph her.
I found these two foraging Greater Sage-Grouse high up on the Aquarius Plateau in Wayne County, Utah five years ago today.
And I then had an "Ah ha" moment. No wonder I thought I was hearing a Cedar Waxwing when in actuality it was the American Robin calling out because of a predator that I did not see.
As I went through the images I took four years ago this photo of a female Mountain Bluebird perched on an old fence post with prey for her young in her bill stood out to me.
I heard the male Green-tailed Towhee before I could see him perched on the weathered post with lichens on the top so a view of him was no surprise for me.
The Song Sparrow didn't let the gray clouds overhead, the moisture in the air or its damp feathers stop it from singing to all the other birds within earshot. I have to admire that.
I have never heard so many American Goldfinches flying overhead for such a long period of time and I was in awe. I still am.
I will say that my favorite and most memorable times photographing Long-billed Curlews happened while I was still living in Florida well away from their breeding grounds.
In April there was a bright, sunny morning when I had several opportunities to photograph adult Turkey Vultures warming up after a chilly night by thermoregulating.
Tree Swallows and other birds should be nesting in the Uinta Mountains by now and I am itching to hop into my Jeep to drive up there to find them.
Almost one year ago I spent my morning photographing so many Yellow-rumped Warblers that they seemed to almost drip from the trees.
Every time I've gone up into the Wasatch Mountains lately I have been searching and listening for Cedar Waxwings to observe and photograph.
Of the hundred or so images I took of the male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds in that small and very windy area I only liked this one photo.
This adult male Swainson's Hawk was perched near his nest in a light rain and although he looked soaking wet that didn't appear to bother him much at all.
To photograph House Wrens and other birds I know I need to find them which means focusing my attention on the sights and sounds around me whenever I am out in the field which has worked extremely well for me.
The soft light of dawn has a special quality to it and I believe that it is evident in both of these American Oystercatcher photos.
I spent a few minutes photographing some of the cutest Short-eared Owl chicks that were just the width of a ditch away from the road that May morning.
Eight days ago I photographed my first male Yellow Warbler of the year and two days ago I had some luck with my first females of the season.
When the male Broad-tailed Hummingbird had had enough of getting bounced around he took off in a hurry with the wind fluffing up his upper chest feathers and the right side of his colorful gorget.
I know that I have to be alert, paying attention and fast when it comes to photographing Ruby-crowned Kinglets or they will make the statement "she/he who hesitates is lost" a reality.
This morning I opted to go back in time to a "normal" Mother's Day by pulling a Black-bellied Plover photo from my archives that was taken on Mother's Day in 2009.
Three days ago I was able to take my first of season Yellow Warbler photos when a male came up close to where I sat in my Jeep in a high mountain canyon.
A few days ago I photographed my first of the season Broad-tailed Hummingbird and I was elated that the bird was a female.
Imagine my surprise when through my viewfinder I could see that the female Mountain Bluebird had landed on a Swiss Army knife that was stuck into the bark of one of the trees.
This female MacGillivray’s Warbler popped into view briefly two years ago high in the Wasatch Mountains and even though she never came out into the open I enjoyed how she was surrounded by the white blooms of a Utah Serviceberry.
One year ago today I "whooped" out loud when I spotted my first of the year Green-tailed Towhee singing as he perched in top of a sagebrush.