Birds that I find in the field, photograph and share the stories behind the images.
Spotted Towhees are among the most colorful members of the sparrow family and I always enjoy photographing them on those occasions when they are out in the open.
I don't usually share photos where the main subject is facing away from me but I liked the alert pose of this raptor as it perched in the dead but distant juniper tree.
I was busy photographing six species of sparrows when I noticed this adult Sage Thrasher pop up in a sumac bush that was close enough for me to take portraits of it.
I had a great time photographing all of the sparrow species I saw two days ago and I could have stayed with them all morning long. I might do just that later this week.
The first bird I photographed yesterday morning was an immature Cooper's Hawk that I found because I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk on a cliff face that the young accipiter decided to harass.
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.
Green-tailed Towhees that hatched this year undergo a molt on or near their natal breeding grounds prior to fall migration.
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.
Four years ago today stopping for a Golden Eagle perched on a power pole in Box Elder County would net me a rare Upland Sandpiper sighting because of the sandpiper's chattering call.
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.
On August 10th I drove into the mountains for a quiet, relaxing morning and came away with quite a few bird photos I have yet to process.
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 Northern House Wren high in the Wasatch Mountains as it perched near a willow thicket.
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.
When this Barn Swallow came in to land it struggled a bit with the wind which is why its wings were raised to regain its balance in this image.
I only had two minutes with these immature Eastern Kingbirds and I felt I had to make every second I had with them in my viewfinder count. I succeeded.
I took this photo of a Ring-billed Gull walking through the snow in whiteout conditions on December 30, 2019 at a pond not far from where I live.
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.
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
Stopping to eat my muffins at this location was a great idea because this week on three trips to this spot I've photographed more than just Cedar Waxwings at this location.
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.
I saw and heard Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees yesterday morning but only this Black-capped Chickadee came in close enough for me to photograph.
I was excited when I found this young Cedar Waxwing out in the open and within the range of my lens right after it caught a crane fly to eat for breakfast.
Several Yellow Warblers flew into the serviceberry and in this photo I can see that this female has been feeding on the ripe berries because her lower mandible has a juicy residue on it.