Adult Western Kingbird resting between feeding its young – Nikon D810, f9, 1/1000, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
While I was up in Box Elder County, Utah four days ago I spotted my first of season Western Kingbirds chasing each other around in flight near a ranch. I was not able to get photos of the pair but seeing them excited me.
Western Kingbirds can be quite vocal when there are two or more of them in an area and although I didn’t hear the two I saw four days ago I already knew what they would sound like because I have had years of experience listening for them while I am out looking for birds to photograph. They sound like this. There are times that I hear the calls of Western Kingbirds before I see them which leads me right to birds.
Western Kingbirds – Utah eBird Observations
The pair of Western Kingbirds I found seemed like they might be a little early to arrive on their breeding grounds but when I checked the graphs of Western Kingbird observations in Utah on eBird it does show them starting to appear the last week of March. Soon other Western Kingbirds will migrate into the area and the pair I saw the other day will have competition for the best nesting sites.
Begging juvenile Western Kingbird – Nikon D810, f8, 1/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The name kingbird is derived from their “take-charge” behavior. Kingbirds are well known for aggressively defending their territory, even against much larger birds such as hawks. Originally Western Kingbirds were named Arkansas Kingbirds but that name was changed to reflect the wider range they inhabit in Western North America.
Five years ago in July I was able to spend time photographing a Western Kingbird family as the adult fed its two young. The juvenile kingbirds were in constant begging mode and the adult was able to find food for them as I watched and photographed the three birds. Both of these photos came from that session with the kingbird family.
The calls and sounds they made sounded very similar to this recording.
This morning there is a light dusting of snow on the ground and tomorrow we are supposed to get more of the white stuff tomorrow but next week the weather forecast looks more like spring and hopefully I will be able to head up north again and will try to re-find the pair of kingbirds. I can barely wait to have Western Kingbirds in my viewfinder again.
That is if we don’t go on a more rigid lock down protocol here in Utah because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Western Kingbird photos plus facts and information about this species.
I love how you were able to capture the beautiful layers of the Kingbirds feathers; especially in pic #2. Thanks Mia.
A beautiful bird – and thank you for posting the link to that cheerful chatter.
I love that white-edged tail and the yellow breast.
I like their silky looking feather coloration. I have thought if I do some redecorating I might use the colors of a western kingbird as my palette.
I love the soft buttery colour of their tummy 🙂
We get them occasionally here on Vancouver Island when they are migrating south, but yours look like spring.
What a wonderful picture to greet the day.
So much like our Eastern Kingbird (no sign of them up here yet) in look and behavior though the western has that pretty yellow. Enjoy the changes!
BeAutiful photos MiA