Female Great-tailed Grackle Portrait In Afternoon Light
This female Great-tailed Grackle was the first bird I photographed yesterday and she was so close to me that I opted to take portraits of her in the nice afternoon light at my local pond.
This female Great-tailed Grackle was the first bird I photographed yesterday and she was so close to me that I opted to take portraits of her in the nice afternoon light at my local pond.
I seem to have missed out on seeing lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers this year during their fall migration, I saw a few back in late September and early October but haven't seen any for some time.
It might seem a little late in the year to see immature Mourning Doves but it probably isn't because Mourning Doves can have as many as six broods per year.
Yesterday morning for a few moments I had one of those opportunities with a Red-tailed Hawk perched on top of some trees in East Canyon where the mountains in the background where still in the shadows and because of that the bird seemed to glow.
Yesterday morning I photographed American Goldfinches, House Finches and White-crowned Sparrows that were busy feeding on greasewood seeds.
By this time of the year Swainson's Hawks have left Utah and headed towards South America to their wintering grounds but the memories I have of the hawks never leave me.
I've been collecting images of immature White-crowned Sparrows that I have taken over the past month or so up in Box Elder County because of all the different settings I have photographed them in.
Some days one good bird is all I get and if I hadn't spotted this cooperative Mockingbird on a Fragrant Sumac in northern Utah yesterday I would have been mostly skunked.
My big excitement yesterday morning was seeing my first, second and third of the year Rough-legged Hawks at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the next thing was seeing all the changes that have happened at the refuge since my last visit.
I saw a low of 15°F yesterday morning up in the East Canyon of the Wasatch Mountains and I also saw plenty of Red-tailed Hawk adults perched in trees and flying along the way.
Two days ago I found two California Quail hens perched low in a tree in Davis County, Utah and I was delighted that one of them was out in the open in nice light.
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.
The first time I remember seeing Cattle Egrets I was a child who had just moved to interior Florida, I think I was in the second grade at the time or about 7 to 8 years old and these white birds that followed cattle around seemed so fascinating and exotic to me.
Last month I spotted a male Wilson's Warbler perched on the top of a Fragrant Sumac bush in northern Utah and he stood out well because he was out in the open for a few seconds.
American Pipits aren't flashy birds, in fact some people might think they are rather plain or dull colored. I am always happy to have them in my viewfinder and to hear their flight calls in the breeze.
I photographed this nonbreeding Chipping Sparrow the last week of September as it perched briefly on a wild rose, I love the pop of color the rose hips provided.
I've been trying for over a month to get decent images of fledgling and juvenile Cedar Waxwings and hadn't succeeded but yesterday I was able to take a photograph of an immature waxwing that I actually like.
Yesterday I saw a single Vesper Sparrow which came in and perched out in the open on a lovely Wild Rose that was full of rose hips in nice light. What is not to like about that?
Right now Lincoln's Sparrows are moving to lower elevations and migrating south so I see more of them during the fall and early winter than any other time of the year here in Utah.
I've been spotting more and more Yellow-rumped Warblers over the past 10 to 14 days and I am excited because I have been expecting them to start showing up in my viewfinder.
Yesterday morning I spent time focused on photographing Ruby-crowned Kinglets in a Wasatch Mountain Canyon in a thicket of hawthorn and chokecherry trees.
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.
Last week for a few brief seconds I was pleasantly surprised to have a Rufous Hummingbird in my viewfinder while up in the Wasatch Mountains.
I am glad I didn't rush to report a Least Flycatcher along with the Baltimore Oriole when this little empid is actually a Dusky Flycatcher and a photographic lifer for me.
My chances of getting the Warbling Vireo photos I have dreamed of were awful but I went up into the canyon anyway.
While photographing some waxwings a flash of movement caught my eye and I spotted an immature American Robin reaching for a berry in a Utah Serviceberry shrub, I couldn't help myself, I had to photograph this young bird too.
The Orange-crowned Warbler gave me quite a few different poses and I was happy to take photos of her and the Utah Serviceberry shrub while she moved around.
This juvenile Mountain Bluebird was hunting for food its own, perching on sagebrush and then diving to the ground after prey.
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.
For several weeks I repeatedly saw and heard a Vesper Sparrow in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains and early in July I was able to take some decent images of it as it sang on a metal post.