Fledgling Gray Catbird Portraits

Fledgling Gray Catbird portrait – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 400, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Yesterday morning while photographing a male Yellow Warbler I caught some movement with my peripheral vison and saw a young Gray Catbird very close to me. The warbler flew off immediately and I focused on taking portraits of the fledgling Gray Catbird. I was concerned that the catbird was just at the edge of my minimum focusing distance because it was just that close.

Over this past week I have been seeing quite a few Gray Catbird juveniles high in the Wasatch Mountains. Until yesterday I hadn’t been close enough to them to take high quality images of the young birds.

Close up young Gray Catbird – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 400, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

The immature Gray Catbird didn’t stay in front of me for very long. I was only able to take twenty-three images of it before the gray bird dove for cover. I could see the catbird moving around in the willow thicket but it didn’t come back out into the open after these portraits were taken.

This spring and summer I have enjoyed hearing adult catbirds in the mountains calling and singing but they have been more challenging for me to photograph for various reasons. That made taking photos of the young and momentarily cooperative Gray Catbird all the more rewarding for me.

I find Gray Catbirds most often in riparian habitats in the Wasatch and Uinta mountain ranges in northern Utah. More often than not I hear this species before I see them.

This young Gray Catbird was silent. If I hadn’t caught its movement out of the corner of my eye I might have missed seeing and taking photos of it altogether. Paying attention outside of my viewfinder paid off once again.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Gray Catbird photos plus facts and information about this species.