Male Brewer’s Blackbird And Thoughts On Changes
I look at this seasonal change as a personal challenge to grow, to adapt and to meet my bird photography goals. I'm looking forward to the challenges and changes ahead.
I look at this seasonal change as a personal challenge to grow, to adapt and to meet my bird photography goals. I'm looking forward to the challenges and changes ahead.
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 only had two minutes with these immature Eastern Kingbirds and I felt I had to make every second I had with them in my viewfinder count. I succeeded.
Worldwide doves symbolize peace and I felt that I could use a little of that feeling this morning so I decided to share some Mourning Dove images I took two days ago in northern Utah.
When I spotted this sharp-looking, adult male Lazuli Bunting less than 30 feet away from where I sat in a mobile blind on the side of the road I almost jumped with joy.
Over time I have come to associate Say's Phoebes with sagebrush because I don't think I have ever seen or photographed one of these phoebes where there wasn't sage nearby here in northern Utah.
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.
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.
Today I am sharing a simple photo of an American Robin perched on a wooden fence high in the Wasatch Mountains that I took photos of two days ago.
Mourning Doves aren't flashy but I think they are handsome birds and that their calls are hauntingly beautiful.
It isn't everyday that I can take photos of a Peregrine Falcon in Red Rock Country so I'm very glad I spotted this one and was able to get a few images it.
When I first moved to Utah in 2009 I saw very few Eurasian Collared-Doves but now I see them in many locations and sometimes in large numbers.
I couldn't have asked for a better birdy subject yesterday morning than this relaxed and cooperative immature Cooper's Hawk and I loved the setting it was in too.
Over the past week I have seen, felt and heard several signs of autumn in the high country of the Wasatch Mountains to as low as the Salt Lake Valley.
I spent a few moments watching and photographing a Least Chipmunk yesterday in the Wasatch Mountains and tried to savor every second I had with it.
In my experience Merlins are already hard to find in the state of Utah but because of our climate crisis they could become even more difficult to locate or they might even disappear from the state altogether.
It is always a thrill for me to photograph Say's Phoebes so when I spotted a family group of them yesterday morning in northern Utah I was delighted.
I dug through my older files and found this photo of a fledgling Mountain Bluebird perched on a wire fence that I photographed in July of 2017 up in Montana's Centennial Valley.
I wonder if GEICO knows that they can drive a birder/bird photographer bonkers as easy as they did me over the winter.
I love photographing the Short-eared Owls while there is still some spring growth around because the warm toned plumage of these owls stands out so nicely from the varying shades of green.
The birds we observe, learn from and photograph care naught for the constrictions of our human calendars instead they listen to ancient, instinctual rhythms inside themselves.
I was thinking back on brighter days this morning and decided to share this photo of an adult White-crowned Sparrow perched on a fence with the bright yellow blooms of rabbitbrush in the background.
I think that both male and female California Quail are striking birds with their head plumes, facial feather patterns, earth toned plumage and scaled underparts so whenever I see them I want to photograph them.
Personally I am fascinated by European Starling murmurations, their interesting, beautiful plumage and how they can mimic the calls and songs of other birds.
Last week while I was photographing some Lark Sparrows in northern Utah I took images of this one who had droopy wings because the sparrow was hot. I was hot, I know how the sparrow felt.
Juvenile Western Kingbirds may look sweet like this one does perched on a fence but they can be rather pushy when it comes to demanding food from their parents and they are also quite noisy too while they are begging.
As a bird photographer I have found that it is easy to make any species of owl look interesting and appealing in my images but it is more of a challenge to do that with Turkey Vultures but that doesn't mean I don't try. I will always try.
The day I photographed the Green-tailed Towhee singing up in the mountain canyon I also had an opportunity to take a nice series of photos of what appeared to be a mated pair of American Goldfinches.
Last week I photographed this adult Western Kingbird perched on rusty barbed wire up in northern Utah with spring greenery behind it and I liked the greens, yellows, grays and whites in the photo.
It looked to me like this Yellow-bellied Marmot pup was doing CrossFit, a move my son who is active in CrossFit tells me is called a "bar muscle up". By then I was laughing so hard that it was hard to maintain focus on the marmot pup while it was hanging there on the fence.