Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
I truly wish that I had been able to photograph this adult Green-tailed Towhee in this Golden Currant bush while is was in full bloom because that would have been gorgeous with all the tiny yellow flowers.
The little Black-chinned Hummingbird did actually take flight to feed on the nectar of the honeysuckle and for a few moments was able to hover peacefully before the male Broad-tailed chased him off.
My persistence and knowledge of a Willow Flycatcher's territory paid off again yesterday morning when the flycatcher flew in close and landed on a willow branch not far from where I sat in my Jeep.
As I watched and photographed the Cedar Waxwings I realized "why" the hawthorn blossoms had appeared to look a bit damaged... the waxwings had been feasting on them!
Like the chokecherries I wrote about yesterday it seems that because of our wetter than normal spring the serviceberries are also doing very well so there should be plentiful fruit for the birds to feast on before they migrate this fall.
Because of our wetter than normal spring it seems that the chokecherries are doing well, extremely well. Many of the chokecherry branches are bending low because of the weight of the blossoms.
Before too long I expect to hear the "peep-peep" calls of Yellow Warbler chicks begging to be fed by their parents but in the meantime I am having a blast photographing the adults that I have been seeing.
Looking beyond the viewfinder paid off for me because if I hadn't done just that I would have missed seeing and photographing this Green-tailed Towhee.
The Willow Flycatcher perched out in the open high on a shrub with a clear blue sky in the background and I didn't even mind the foliage and branches behind and above the bird.
I had more fun photographing Broad-tailed Hummingbirds in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning, probably more fun than should be legal.
When a bird photography trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge starts with me spotting not just one but two Snowy Plovers out on the flats I just know the day is off to a great start and that is what happened yesterday morning.
I spent yesterday morning enjoying a Broad-tailed Hummingbird bliss in the Wasatch Mountains by finding their favorite perches and photographing them feeding, resting, and defending their territories.
Because of a two part call, FITZ-bew, I had no trouble identifying a flycatcher that I saw, photographed and heard yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains as a Willow Flycatcher.
While I know that for some people this Green-tailed Towhee image might be a "little out there" for their tastes and personal preferences I don't photograph birds for them, I photograph birds for me.
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.
Three days ago I photographed Yellow-rumped Warblers in the Wasatch Mountains, these warblers are a challenge because they move so quickly but they are always fun to have in my viewfinder.
Gray Catbirds have returned to northern Utah for their breeding season and I am thrilled to be hearing their songs and calls again.
The Black Twinberry Honeysuckles weren't even in bloom quite yet yesterday in the Wasatch Mountains when I spotted this male Broad-tailed Hummingbird hovering near some to get nectar.
The other bird I photographed that day in the high Uintas was a gorgeous male Yellow Warbler foraging in an aspen tree very close to where I sat inside a "mobile" blind at the edge of a dirt road.
Male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds show a preference in the perches that they use to rest, to keep an eye on their territories and once they select a favorite perch it can be like striking gold for a bird photographer.
We've had cloudy and sometimes rainy weather for quite some time now in northern Utah with storms rolling in one after the other and it does prevent me from getting out into the field with the birds.
I took a couple hundred images of the Yellow-rumped Warblers as they flitted around in search of prey next to the creek and after reviewing my images I only found a few that I felt were worth keeping.
The nicest surprise of the morning was when a female Belted Kingfisher perched on a branch close to a creek and the road.
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.
In my post about Chipping Sparrows, Wild Turkeys and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds earlier this week I mentioned that I had taken more photos of the turkey hen so this morning I thought I'd share one more photo of her.
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.
The gems of my photographic journey yesterday morning were Broad-tailed Hummingbirds that were hanging around a Wax Currant bush next to the dirt road where the sounds of their wings alerted me to their presence.
I don't know if the Ring-necked Pheasants eat the midges but I know that many of the other birds at the refuge do so I like to think of midges as bird food on the wing.
On my second trip up into the mountains last week I was focused on a Barn Swallow perched in bushes near a creek when I caught a bit of movement in the bushes below the swallow and spotted this Yellow Warbler.
What is better than photographing a male Red-tailed Hawk? Photographing the hawk with blooming wildflowers, in this case Gray's Biscuitroot.