Fledgling Mountain Bluebird In Montana
I dug through my older files and found this photo of a fledgling Mountain Bluebird perched on a wire fence that I photographed in July of 2017 up in Montana's Centennial Valley.
I dug through my older files and found this photo of a fledgling Mountain Bluebird perched on a wire fence that I photographed in July of 2017 up in Montana's Centennial Valley.
When I saw this immature American Robin perched in some bushes that were starting to show the colors of autumn I knew I wanted to photograph it, so I did.
Would you be able to ID this hawk from just this image or similar view of it in the field if I hadn't already identified it in my title and my photo caption?
This immature Double-crested Cormorant appears to be molting and probably needs all the rest it can get because of the molt and because winter is hard on these overwintering cormorants.
So, even though I didn't get great photos yesterday I was glad to get out and photograph an American Barn Owl, Bald Eagle and these California and Ring-billed Gulls.
One year ago today I spent the morning focusing on and photographing the Tundra Swans and wetlands of Bear River MBR and I have to say that those birds and the marshes bring me such joy that I feel like I have to share them over and over.
If I hadn't already been stopped to photograph the blackbird I wouldn't have seen this immature Bald Eagle flying towards me in time to take the photos that I took of it on the wing.
I am itching to get back out into the field and one of the places I am most excited to get back to is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Box Elder County, Utah because of the Tundra Swans that I know are there.
I really did get a Christmas Goose yesterday when I spotted my first of winter Snow Goose that was resting on a boulder near the banks of the Jordan River yesterday.
After looking through all of those images I decided to share a photo today of an immature Rough-legged Hawk perched on a waterfowl rest area sign taken at Farmington Bay WMA on Christmas Eve day in 2013.
One of the birds I took images of that afternoon was an immature Double-crested Cormorant that flew past me in that golden light just barely above the surface of the pond.
It isn't often that I am able to be close enough to a Northern Harrier to take a portrait of one, in fact I can only think of one time that I've been that fortunate and that was in May of 2016.
Why did it make me laugh and smile? Because it looks like the Rough-legged Hawk might have been playing peek-a-boo as it looked towards me through its wingtips.
It might seem a little late in the year to see immature Mourning Doves but it probably isn't because Mourning Doves can have as many as six broods per year.
I was able to photograph two immature Red-tailed Hawks at East Canyon State Park and the photos I am sharing today are of the first one that I found.
The more I have looked at this image over the past year the more I liked it for the flight pose, the look at the Red-tailed Hawk's plumage colors against those yellow leaves and somehow the poor lighting conditions became less significant to my eyes.
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.
A few weeks ago I observed and photographed an immature female Northern Harrier repeatedly harassing a Ring-necked Pheasant hen out on the marshes at Farmington Bay.
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.
Three days ago I was able to photograph a female or immature Dark-eyed Junco of the Oreganus Group when it flew in and landed not too far away from me and I have to admit that seeing it excited me because I enjoy these birds so much.
This time of the year male and female Spotted Towhees have finished raising their broods and their young are learning how to be on their own but they do look a touch ragged as they molt into their adult plumage.
Yesterday the "unexpected" bird was a juvenile Osprey in the Wasatch Mountains. I'd say it was unexpected because I'd been photographing songbirds and wasn't expecting to see North America's "Fish Hawk" in the same area.
This female or immature Wilson's Warbler isn't a photographic lifer for me but it is the first time I have gotten a decent image of one, most of the time I've gotten blurry images of them of just a small part of the bird.
There was plenty of bird activity where chokecherry trees lined both sides of the gravel road, the most numerous birds foraging on the chokecherries were American Robins and many of them were immature birds.
Last week for a few brief seconds I was pleasantly surprised to have a Rufous Hummingbird in my viewfinder while up in the Wasatch Mountains.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been able to photograph male, female and immature Lazuli Buntings as they have been gorging on the fruits of Serviceberry trees to fatten up before their migration.
I am glad I didn't rush to report a Least Flycatcher along with the Baltimore Oriole when this little empid is actually a Dusky Flycatcher and a photographic lifer for me.
This spring and summer I have photographed Yellow Warblers primarily in mountainous riparian habitat so when I spotted one foraging in a Rough Cocklebur two days ago in the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was happy to take photos of it.
I'd driven up into a Wasatch Mountain canyon and was waiting for the sun to rise over the mountains when I spotted several juvenile Barn Swallows perched on a fence right next to the road in lovely morning light.
Even though the sun was high I couldn't resist photographing a juvenile Lazuli Bunting that flew in and perched on a Utah Serviceberry branch because to my eye the setting was both enchanting and very appealing.