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Green-tailed Towhees Are Returning For Their Breeding Season

By |April 29th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Summit County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When mom and I found this adult Green-tailed Towhee singing while perched on a blooming Utah Serviceberry of course we had to stop and take its photo!

Adult American Robin in a Serviceberry in the Wasatch Mountains

By |October 12th, 2018|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Little Dutch Hollow, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

My best bird that morning was this adult American Robin that fluffed, preened and gobbled down some berries while perched in a Utah Serviceberry tree.

House Wrens Foraging in the Wasatch Mountains

By |September 8th, 2018|Categories: Birds, House Wrens, Little Dutch Hollow, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning I was delighted to find two House Wrens foraging in a brush pile in the Wasatch Mountains not long after sunrise. This time of the year the wrens aren't singing like they do in the spring so I have to rely more on my eyes and not on a combination of my eyes and ears to locate them.

Late Summer Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk With The Colors Of Fall

By |September 6th, 2018|Categories: Cooper’s Hawks, Little Dutch Hollow, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I know, I could grumble about not being able to photograph the young Cooper's Hawk taking its prey down just feet away from my Jeep but you know what? Being there to see nature in action was enough for me.

Immature American Robins Foraging in Chokecherry Trees

By |August 30th, 2018|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Smith and Morehouse Reservoir, Summit County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

There was plenty of bird activity where chokecherry trees lined both sides of the gravel road, the most numerous birds foraging on the chokecherries were American Robins and many of them were immature birds.

Least Chipmunk Eating Utah Serviceberry Berries

By |July 28th, 2018|Categories: Least Chipmunks, Shrubs, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm always happy to photograph the other things I see while I am out photographing birds and that includes cute critters like this Least Chipmunk nibbling on the fruits of the Utah Serviceberry shrub.

Photographic Frustrations – Red-naped Sapsuckers in the Targhee National Forest

By |July 11th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Frustrations in bird photography, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One year ago today I experienced one of the two most frustrating days in my entire time of being a bird photographer while photographing Red-naped Sapsuckers in the Targhee National Forest of Idaho.

Male Red-naped Sapsucker Close Ups – Too Much Glass

By |June 8th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Summit County, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I spotted a flash of black, white and red as a bird landed in the aspen tree that was closest to me above where the wrens and swallows are nesting and realized that a male Red-naped Sapsucker had flown in and was foraging for food in the buds of the aspen.

Chipping Sparrow With Nesting Materials In The Uinta Mountains

By |June 6th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Chipping Sparrows, Summit County, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

While photographing some Pine Siskins that were foraging and gathering nesting materials I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye and spotted a Chipping Sparrow with nesting materials in its bill.

Nesting Tree Swallows in the High Uintas

By |June 3rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Tree Swallows, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

While I photographed nesting House Wrens in the High Uintas the last day of May I also photographed nesting Tree Swallows in the same Aspen tree in a cavity a bit lower on the trunk.

Photographing Nesting House Wrens in the High Uintas

By |June 2nd, 2018|Categories: House Wrens, Nesting Birds, Summit County, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago I spent time photographing nesting House Wrens in the high Uintas near Mirror Lake Highway, of interest to me is that two years ago I photographed Red-naped Sapsuckers using this same nesting cavity.

Close Up Photos Of A Bull Moose In Velvet Eating Willows

By |June 1st, 2018|Categories: Moose, Summit County, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I laughed again when I saw this photo on my camera LCD, the Moose was reaching to grab more willow leaves but was also keeping an eye on me in the mobile blind while his "beard" swung like the clapper of a bell.

Green-tailed Towhee Perched On A Blooming Utah Serviceberry

By |May 31st, 2018|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Morgan County, Shrubs, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I spent some time up in the canyons of the Wasatch Mountains yesterday photographing the birds I found including this handsome Green-tailed Towhee perched on a blooming Utah Serviceberry.

Green-tailed Towhee Singing In A Mountain Canyon

By |May 25th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Summit County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had fun yesterday morning photographing a male Green-tailed Towhee singing in a mountain canyon, this was a bird I heard before I spotted him perched on a flowering branch.

I’m Looking Forward to Photographing Green-tailed Towhees

By |May 3rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Morgan County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Green-tailed Towhees are migratory so I don't see them year round in Utah like I do their close relatives the Spotted Towhees. Green-tailed Towhees spend their winters in the southern most parts of the U.S. and in Mexico and I miss seeing a hearing them while they are away.

Photographing a Male Northern Flicker Excavating a Nesting Cavity

By |March 23rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Nesting Birds, Northern Flickers, Targhee National Forest, Wildlife Ethics|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I dug into my archives and picked these Northern Flicker photos from May of 2015 to share today because I saw a Northern Flicker yesterday and thought of how they will soon start excavating their nesting cavities to rear their young in.

Perched male Red-naped Sapsucker in Idaho’s Targhee National Forest

By |December 4th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This Red-naped Sapsucker was perched on a dead aspen branch near the nesting cavity where I photographed a chick being fed by the adults in mid July.

Juvenile Dark-eyed Junco, Trial Lake and Mirror Lake Highway

By |August 17th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Dark-eyed Juncos, High Uintas, Summit County, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was delighted to photograph a lovely, little Dark-eyed Junco juvenile perched in a conifer near Washington Lake which is not too far from Trial Lake and the Mirror Lake Highway.

Red-naped Sapsucker Diving Away From Nesting Cavity

By |August 16th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I did find one jewel in the images, a photo of one of the adult Red-naped Sapsuckers flying away from the nesting cavity looking like a bullet.

Intruding Red-naped Sapsucker – Or Just A Curious Bird?

By |July 29th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I do not believe that this bird was one of the pair of adult Red-naped Sapsuckers I photographed feeding the chick in the nesting cavity, his bib and breast markings were different from the other adult birds.

Adult Red-naped Sapsucker Feeding its Chick at the Nesting Cavity

By |July 14th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Although photographing the Red-naped Sapsuckers at the nesting cavity has been frustrating at times it has also been very rewarding to observe all the action of the sapsucker family.

Targhee National Forest Red-naped Sapsucker Feeding Young

By |July 12th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Jackpot and frustrations... I'll explain the jackpot first and get to the frustrations later about the Targhee National Forest Red-naped Sapsucker feeding its young.

Red-naped Sapsucker in the Uinta Mountains

By |July 7th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Summit County, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This male Red-naped Sapsucker was photographed last year in the high Uintas, a mountain range that is east of Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Mountains I can see from where I live.

Female Red-naped Sapsucker With a Bill Full of Ants

By |June 18th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Summit County, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Maybe next year I'll have better opportunities with these Red-naped Sapsuckers and maybe they will chose to place their new nesting cavity in a location that is easier to photograph.

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