Hearing Thousands Of American Goldfinches Flying Overhead
I have never heard so many American Goldfinches flying overhead for such a long period of time and I was in awe. I still am.
I have never heard so many American Goldfinches flying overhead for such a long period of time and I was in awe. I still am.
Every time I've gone up into the Wasatch Mountains lately I have been searching and listening for Cedar Waxwings to observe and photograph.
When the male Broad-tailed Hummingbird had had enough of getting bounced around he took off in a hurry with the wind fluffing up his upper chest feathers and the right side of his colorful gorget.
I know that I have to be alert, paying attention and fast when it comes to photographing Ruby-crowned Kinglets or they will make the statement "she/he who hesitates is lost" a reality.
Yesterday I had a blast photographing a pair of Mountain Bluebirds at a natural nesting cavity at the edge of a forest along with some other woodland birds.
I spent yesterday morning high up in the Wasatch Mountains where part of the time I focused on photographing the Belted Kingfishers that I found in two counties.
If I can find a protective head net that actually works I might just venture back out onto the island after the no-see-ums come out because I miss photographing nesting Loggerhead Shrikes.
Two years ago I was able to find and photograph quiet a few young Gray Catbirds high in the Wasatch Mountain canyons including this one who seemed to be keeping an eye on me.
I don't often see Spotted Sandpipers perched in trees so I was enchanted when this one landed on the bare branches that hung over a slow flowing creek.
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.
Yesterday I was able to focus on this American Robin as it foraged in the branches of a crabapple tree and took a nice, long series of images of the handsome red-breasted thrush.
Yesterday morning I spent some time up in the Wasatch Mountains and I am so glad that I did because I found a second winter Bald Eagle with leucism.
For a couple of years now I have enjoyed photographing Cedar Waxwings high up in the Wasatch Mountains from spring through the tail end of autumn.
While hoping to photograph Brown Creepers two days ago I spotted a Hermit Thrush at a distance on the ground in the deep shadows of a stand of trees.
Last Friday as I looked for birds in a few West Desert canyons I was serenaded by the songs and calls of Townsend's Solitaires and while I loved hearing them it was frustrating because they were either too far away or hidden from my view.
This immature Northern Flicker was one of the last birds I spotted and photographed three days ago while up in the Wasatch Mountains and I was happy that she stayed long enough for me to take a nice series of images of her.
I was extremely pleased to find and photograph my first Gray Catbird juvenile of this breeding season yesterday morning high in the Wasatch Mountains as it came into view on a hawthorn tree.
Just a few days ago I was listening to Song Sparrows singing on the East Coast and yesterday I was listening to them singing in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah.
It was interesting to watch and photograph this little Broad-tailed Hummingbird defend his favorite perch from the intruders I barely saw but could hear as they flew in and he flew out to chase them away.
I had this gorgeous Warbling Vireo up close singing its tiny heart out and I couldn't photograph it so I sat and watched it sing and move around in the aspens.
The Willow Flycatcher perched out in the open high on a shrub with a clear blue sky in the background and I didn't even mind the foliage and branches behind and above the bird.
Three days ago I photographed Yellow-rumped Warblers in the Wasatch Mountains, these warblers are a challenge because they move so quickly but they are always fun to have in my viewfinder.
The other bird I photographed that day in the high Uintas was a gorgeous male Yellow Warbler foraging in an aspen tree very close to where I sat inside a "mobile" blind at the edge of a dirt road.
These two Song Sparrow photos are a reminder to me that sometimes having man made objects in my photos isn't such a bad thing, it is just a matter of personal tastes.
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.
I've shared photographs of Warbling Vireos here before but this is the first time that I am sharing photos of Plumbeous Vireos, these images were taken earlier this month in the Wasatch Mountains.
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.
I see, but don't often photograph House Finches at home, I get most excited about them away from human civilization and in their natural habitats.
I looked up and spotted a Warbling Vireo not only out in the open plus it had gorgeous fall colors in the background. I locked focus onto the vireo and started taking images in a long burst!
I've had such an amazing time this year photographing Yellow Warblers in the Wasatch Mountains and I've enjoyed learning more about them and their behaviors since early May.