Well Hello There Green-tailed Towhee – I’ve Been Expecting You
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.
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.
What got me so excited was seeing how many serviceberries there were blooming on the slopes of the mountains and how thick the blossoms were on each of the shrubs.
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.
Seeing the baby ground squirrels brought a smile to my face and I must admit that my heart skipped a beat. I really think that they are adorable.
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.
Today is my mother's 88th birthday and although we aren't together to celebrate it and we are physically 2,211 miles apart I know that this photo will bring us close together once again because she loved this view.
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.
Early this month I was able to create this golden background by having leafless willows that line the creek below the road behind the Uinta Ground Squirrel when I photographed it.
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.
This Least Chipmunk was climbing in the shrubs and foraging on unopened flower buds when its right eye caught my eyes.
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.
The first time I raised my lens yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains it was for three Elk I spotted on a hillside.
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.
That is one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven posts about birds, wildlife, flowers and the incredible scenery I see out in the field.
By excavating their own nests Northern Flickers provide nests for other woodland birds that can't excavate nesting cavities on their own and those nests can be used over and over again. Nature is brilliant.