Least Chipmunk Memory
I picked this photo of the two Least Chipmunks out of the many I had taken that morning because to me it feels like there is a touch of intimacy to it.
I picked this photo of the two Least Chipmunks out of the many I had taken that morning because to me it feels like there is a touch of intimacy to it.
A few days ago I was able to photograph an immature Chipping Sparrow that landed on a wire fence next to a dusty road in the Wasatch Mountains.
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.
I wanted to share this particular image today and explain how I got this shot of an upside down male Nashville Warbler hanging on a willow branch while foraging for aphids.
I might just start believing that September 1st is my lucky day after seeing, photographing and identifying a rare Veery in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday.
These bright Yellow Warblers are getting ready for their long, fall migrations and while I am happy to see that they seem to have had a successful breeding season it also felt a touch bittersweet to me.
I took forty-eight photos of this flycatcher three days ago as it watched for flying insects from its perch and I realized that these might be the last Willow Flycatcher photos that I take this year.
Two days ago near a creek in the Wasatch Mountains I took the funniest Yellow Warbler photo I have ever taken in all the years that I have been photographing birds.
The surprise for me was that the Warbling Vireo decided to perch out in the open with a fairly clean background and that it stayed there for almost a minute.
I was "over the moon" excited when I spotted an adult male Nashville Warbler out in the open at the top of a willow yesterday while up in the Wasatch Mountains.
About two weeks ago I photographed a molting House Wren high in the Wasatch Mountains as it perched near a willow thicket.
A few weeks ago while up in the Wasatch Mountains I was able to see and photograph an immature male Downy Woodpecker as it foraged for food in willows and while clinging to a Common Mullein.
This is probably far more information on "He? She? It?" than anyone wanted to see this morning but after photographing the adult and immature Green-tailed Towhees yesterday I thought this was a great time to do this post.
I may have seen and heard my last Uinta Ground Squirrel of the year last week while up in the Wasatch Mountains looking for birds to photograph.
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
This Song Sparrow will replace its damaged feathers quickly and will look like it normally does once again. Until then, I still think it is a beautiful, albeit somewhat ruffled, bird.
The bird activity picked up just after the sun rose over the mountains peaks and as I scanned the area for birds I spotted this Pine Siskin almost directly in front of me clinging to a small branch.
I was excited when I found this young Cedar Waxwing out in the open and within the range of my lens right after it caught a crane fly to eat for breakfast.
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.
Yesterday I did take some bird photos and although I didn't find any avian rarities I did find a beautiful young Red Fox in a mountain meadow to photograph.
It was fun to have the male and immature Western Tanager in my viewfinder for a few moments high in the Wasatch Mountains last week. I hope I see more soon.
When a Least Chipmunk popped up on a fence post that was so close I wasn't sure I'd be able to get sharp images of it due to my minimum focusing distance I still tried. I'm glad that I did.
I was over the moon to be able to take these photos of the young Spotted Sandpiper swimming across the alpine creek because I've never had the opportunity to do so before.
I was happy to have these juvenile Mountain Bluebirds in my viewfinder yesterday and to be able to listen to their soft calls high on the sagebrush dotted hillside.
Yesterday morning the first birds I spotted in the high country of the Wasatch Mountains were two tiny, butt bouncing Spotted Sandpiper chicks foraging on their own.
Last week I had a blast photographing several Yellow Warblers, young and adults, foraging for aphids in a patch of thistles high up in the Wasatch Mountains.
Two days ago the first bird I photographed high in the mountains was an adult male American Goldfinch clinging to thistles that were covered in ants and aphids.