Surprise Immature Osprey In The West Desert Of Utah
I don't know how many times I have said "expect the unexpected" since I began photographing birds while talking to fellow photographers.
I don't know how many times I have said "expect the unexpected" since I began photographing birds while talking to fellow photographers.
There were a few times when the Wild Turkeys stood upright and looked right at me as I photographed them and I took full advantage of the opportunity to take portraits of the large birds.
This adult female Northern Flicker and a male were both foraging for hawthorn berries when I spotted them from across a creek high in the Wasatch Mountains.
The Rock Squirrel was grasping a sumac branch and the shrub was so close to me I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to focus on it.
There are times I see funny things while I am out photographing that tickle me so much that I have to laugh out loud and yesterday that was this Least Chipmunk with a fly on its head.
When this Warbling Vireo popped into my view I knew if I wanted to photograph it I had to hurry because these small vireos move fast.
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.
Three days ago while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains I had an immature Wilson's Warbler in my viewfinder for just a few moments.
When this Mountain Chickadee came into view it was hanging from a juniper bough with two Douglas Fir seeds in its bill it appeared to be looking around for a place to cache its food.
I parked next to a stand of willows to see what birds would come in and it wasn't long before I was busy photographing Nashville Warblers foraging for aphids on the leaves of the trees.
I spent the morning up in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday where one of the furry creatures I saw and photographed was a Rock Squirrel on a lichen encrusted boulder.
I was so excited that I was shaking because the creature I had found was a Desert Tarantula which was my first sighting of one in Utah.
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.
Throughout my life I have liked to think that every sunset has a promise and a gift from Nature in it. The promise that the sun will rise again in the morning.
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.