Mockingbirds, Thrashers, Catbirds, Starlings and Pipits

Our Sage Thrashers Will Migrate Soon

By |August 30th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Sage Thrashers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Sage Thrashers are only in Utah for their breeding season and by now all their chicks have fledged and are feeding on their own.

Gray Catbird Adult Finding Food For Its Young

By |July 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Gray Catbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Bird activity in the Wasatch Mountains has gotten slow but I was able to find and photograph an adult Gray Catbird with food for its young two days ago.

Gray Catbird Searching For Berries

By |June 30th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Gray Catbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning I spent part of my time in the Wasatch Mountains focused on a Gray Catbird searching for ripe honeysuckle berries. 

Sage Thrashers – Time To Listen For Their March Melodies

By |March 5th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Sage Thrashers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Sage Thrashers return to northern Utah in March and it is now time for me to start listening for their songs and melodies.

2020 Photographic Year In Review

By |December 31st, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Bushtits, Common Loons, Cooper’s Hawks, Desert Tarantulas, Eastern Kingbirds, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagles, Gray Catbirds, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Green-tailed Towhees, Merlins, Mountain Bluebirds, Nashville Warblers, Northern Harriers, Northern Yellow Warblers, Pine Siskins, Red Foxes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red-tailed Hawks, Ring-billed Gulls, Rusty Blackbirds, Short-eared Owls, Townsend's Solitaires, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Wildflowers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.

Seeing All Birds – European Starling On A Frosty Perch

By |December 12th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, European Starlings, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I have a backlog of raptor images I took earlier this week but I wanted to share one of a species that some people hate or many bird photographers prefer to ignore, the European Starling.

Begging Fledgling Gray Catbird High In The Wasatch Mountains

By |July 11th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Frustrations in bird photography, Gray Catbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I saw a Gray Catbird fledgling inch its way up a stick two days ago and then exhibit begging behavior by raising its wings and opening its bill I locked on to it.

Photographing Gray Catbird Interactions In The Mountains

By |June 6th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Gray Catbirds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I'm grateful that I spotted a single Gray Catbird pop up on top of a snowberry bush yesterday morning because if I hadn't none of the following photos would have been possible.

My First Of Year Gray Catbird – Heard But Not Seen

By |April 12th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Gray Catbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On April 2nd in a canyon in some mountains of the West Desert of Utah I heard a familiar call, the mewing call of a Gray Catbird while I was looking for birds to photograph.

Juvenile, Immature And Adult Sage Thrashers

By |March 9th, 2020|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Sage Thrashers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The comparisons I have made between juvenile, immature and adult Sage Thrashers are basic, there are more ways to determine their age but I wanted to keep the comparisons simple.

American Pipits In Sweet Morning Light

By |March 3rd, 2020|Categories: American Pipits, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

These are a few of my favorite photos that I have taken of American Pipits. Ever. Part of the reason they are my favorites is because of the sweet morning light.

European Starling On A Snowy Winter Day

By |February 6th, 2020|Categories: Birds, European Starlings, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When this European Starling perched in a Crabapple tree close to me during the snowstorm I was able to get a few photos of it before my hands started to hurt from the cold.

Resting Sage Thrasher Plus My Concerns About Biting Gnats

By |March 29th, 2019|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Sage Thrashers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

So as of right now I am not sure whether I will be spending time on the island after the biting gnats come out which means if I am going to photograph Sage Thrashers displaying I need to find the thrashers some place else.

2018 Year In Review For On The Wing Photography

By |December 31st, 2018|Categories: Baltimore Orioles, Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, California Gulls, Cedar Waxwings, Northern Mockingbirds, Northern Yellow Warblers, Peregrine Falcons, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Say's Phoebes, Tundra Swans, Wild Turkeys, Yellow-bellied Marmots|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

All in all, as 2018 comes to a close I realize how fortunate I am to see all the birds that I do throughout the year as a bird photographer, to be able to do what I love and to love my feathered subjects too.

Cooper’s Hawk & European Starling Encounter

By |December 10th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, European Starlings, Lee Kay Ponds, Morgan County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Then the noise suddenly stopped and I saw the silhouette of a European Starling fly out of the tree with the Cooper's Hawk hot on its tail, literally.

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