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.
I did see a Western Kingbird two days ago but the only photos I have of that bird were taken on a barbed wire fence and I have more of those type of images than I know what to do with and nothing about those images were appealing, unique or all that interesting.
All summer long I have heard Willow Flycatchers up in some of the Wasatch Mountain Canyons but had been unable to capture quality images of them.
This image kind of looks like I photographed a two-headed juvenile Western Kingbird but it is really an optical illusion.
The ranges for these two species of kingbirds overlap here in northern Utah but I see more of the Western Kingbirds than I do the Eastern Kingbirds.
As I watched the Gray Flycatcher it flew towards me, snatched a damselfly from mid air then landed on a dead branch not too far away and proceeded to eat it while I photographed the bird.
Winter is clashing with spring right now in northern Utah and those seasonal changes can make bird photography interesting.
Two days ago I was able to photograph an Eastern Kingbird hawking insects from a fence on my way out of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
Mountain Bluebirds and this Centennial Valley Eastern Kingbird were the first two bird species I photographed on this trip to Montana and Idaho.
I photographed a nest building Say's Phoebe trying to separate a clump of grass and mud, or perhaps bison manure, by holding it in its bill and beating it on the ground.
Yesterday morning while in Box Elder County I was delighted to photograph a Western Kingbird with a Hint of Black Mustard in the background as it perched on a fence near the road.
This adult Western Kingbird close up was photographed two years ago on Antelope Island State Park as it perched on a sign post close to a nest site.
I feel fortunate that I am able to see and photograph both the Western and Eastern Kingbird juveniles here in northern Utah.
Late last month I photographed a Western Kingbird family in Box Elder County where the juveniles kept begging for food from the adult.
So even though I didn't come home with many Burrowing Owls images yesterday these Western Kingbird images more than made up for it!
Early last week while photographing Western Kingbirds I also had the opportunity to photograph a Willow Flycatcher that was hanging around the same area on Antelope Island State Park.
I had fun photographing Western Kingbirds again yesterday on Antelope Island State Park and hours later I was still hearing their calls in my mind.
By the third or fourth visit to the area where the Western Kingbirds were located the sun was shining and the light was great. I felt like singing along with the kingbird to celebrate the clearing sky.
It has been gray for a couple of days and it supposed to be gray until this front passes and while gray days can get me down gray birds lift me back up.
I only have time for a quick post this morning and decided to post one of the migrant kingbirds I look forward to seeing every year, an Eastern Kingbird.
This morning I was looking through some images that I had taken in August of 2014 and came across this juvenile Western Kingbird photo that I hadn't touched at all.
In June I published several posts about a pair of Western Kingbirds nesting on Antelope Island State park but unfortunately that nesting attempt failed.
Three days ago I was caught off guard when this Western Kingbird flew in and hovered up close to me, almost too close actually.
Yesterday morning I had Western Kingbirds and Long-billed Curlews in my viewfinder on Antelope Island State Park.
Today I am posting what I believe to be a Least Flycatcher that was perched in an evergreen along a road in Idaho.
Gray Flycatchers are generally found in sagebrush and arid busy habitats so it was a real treat to see this one in the marshy habitat of the refuge.
Eastern Kingbirds; like their western counterpart, are fearless and will attack birds as large as Bald Eagles to defend their nests.
I don't often have the opportunity to photograph juvenile Western Kingbirds but last week I did at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Box Elder County.
The scientific name of Eastern Kingbirds is Tyrannus tyrannus, Tyrannus means "tyrant" and they are well named because they will harass any bird that comes near their nests including crows, ravens and much larger birds like hawks.
Western Kingbirds appear to have had a wonderful nesting season here in Utah because there are plenty of young birds perching on wires and branches loudly demanding food from the frazzled looking adults.