My Solitaire Common Name Change Recommendation
In 2024, the common name for Townsend's Solitaire will change, along with many other bird names. My recommendation would be to rename it the Juniper Solitaire.
In 2024, the common name for Townsend's Solitaire will change, along with many other bird names. My recommendation would be to rename it the Juniper Solitaire.
The last time I was in the Wasatch Mountains, I heard the calls of waxwings. I didn't get many photos, but I thought I would share this Cedar Waxwing from one year ago today.
When I photographed these ripening Blue Elderberry berries a few days ago, I was reminded of something I saw last year related to the elderberries I observe in the Wasatch Mountains.
Now that many of the leaves have fallen off the trees along the Jordan River I have been finding quite a few Bullock's Oriole nests on my walks along the trail.
I found this young Green-tailed Towhee perched in a serviceberry high in a mountain canyon on a sunny morning on the last day of July this year.
Warning: More cute Least Chipmunk photos ahead plus serviceberries high in the Wasatch Mountain Range. I just can't resist them and I don't want to.
My last stop yesterday up in the Wasatch Mountains gave me great views and photos of this immature Bullock's Oriole perched in a serviceberry shrub.
I was happy to have this male American Goldfinch perched with ripe serviceberries in front of him for a few moments yesterday high in the mountains.
Two mornings ago I had an absolutely fantastic time photographing a Least Chipmunk family feeding, cuddling, grooming and playing high in the mountains.
I escaped into the coolness of the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning for a few hours. While I was there I photographed this young Lazuli Bunting.
Yesterday morning one of the birds I photographed was a stunning adult Cedar Waxwing perched on a serviceberry that has started to develop fruit.
Last week while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains I had the opportunity to take photos of Roundleaf Snowberry berries in between photographing birds.
Yesterday morning I spent part of my time in the Wasatch Mountains focused on a Gray Catbird searching for ripe honeysuckle berries.
American Robins seemed especially abundant yesterday high in the Wasatch Mountains and I was happy to photograph them foraging on the ripe berries of a hawthorn.
Eleven days ago I photographed an adult Sage Thrasher regurgitating the seed of a sumac berry that was so close I could barely fit the thrasher in the frame.
I'm happy to have had these two little Black-capped Chickadees in my viewfinder this week. I enjoy seeing, hearing, and photographing these perky primarily black and white birds.
On August 10th I drove into the mountains for a quiet, relaxing morning and came away with quite a few bird photos I have yet to process.
On four out of five trips up into the Wasatch Mountains this week I've been able to take images of immature and female Western Tanagers
Several Yellow Warblers flew into the serviceberry and in this photo I can see that this female has been feeding on the ripe berries because her lower mandible has a juicy residue on it.
Birds aren't the only creatures feasting on the ripe serviceberries in the Wasatch Mountains right now, Least Chipmunks are also gorging on the juicy berries too.
The Cedar Waxwing didn't appear to be on the shrub to eat the serviceberries because all it did was call and look around. Perhaps its young were also in the area.
One of the birds I had in my viewfinder for a few moments yesterday morning was an immature MacGillivray's Warbler where it perched on the branches of a serviceberry at the edge of a dusty, gravel road.
Last week while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains photographing birds I had a Least Chipmunk pop into my view while it ate a serviceberry.
On April 2nd in a canyon in some mountains of the West Desert of Utah I heard a familiar call, the mewing call of a Gray Catbird while I was looking for birds to photograph.
Because I have spent so much time out in the West Desert lately I have seen and heard quite a few Juniper Titmice moving through the junipers that dot the slopes of the mountains and foothills.
This Orange-crowned Warbler was only in my viewfinder for about a minute but she gave me great views and quite a few different poses to photograph and I was delighted with the photos I took.
I was looking through some of the images I took in August and came across this photo of an Orange-crowned Warbler foraging in the Wasatch Mountains and realized I hadn't processed or shared it yet.
The Sage Thrasher seemed like it was bathed in golden light when suddenly I saw that it had a sumac berry which it tossed it into the air and proceeded to swallow it whole.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been able to photograph male, female and immature Lazuli Buntings as they have been gorging on the fruits of Serviceberry trees to fatten up before their migration.
Even though the sun was high I couldn't resist photographing a juvenile Lazuli Bunting that flew in and perched on a Utah Serviceberry branch because to my eye the setting was both enchanting and very appealing.