Photographing Late Summer Nashville Warblers
I parked next to a stand of willows to see what birds would come in and it wasn't long before I was busy photographing Nashville Warblers foraging for aphids on the leaves of the trees.
I parked next to a stand of willows to see what birds would come in and it wasn't long before I was busy photographing Nashville Warblers foraging for aphids on the leaves of the trees.
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.
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.
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.
Birds aren't the only creatures feasting on the ripe serviceberries in the Wasatch Mountains right now, Least Chipmunks are also gorging on the juicy berries too.
The Cedar Waxwing didn't appear to be on the shrub to eat the serviceberries because all it did was call and look around. Perhaps its young were also in the area.
Once again I missed out on photographing Showy Milkweed at the lower elevations of northern Utah but I made up for it by photographing some of these spectacular pink wildflowers high in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday.
Last week while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains photographing birds I had a Least Chipmunk pop into my view while it ate a serviceberry.
Last week I was able to photograph Weidemeyer's Admiral butterflies up in the Wasatch Mountains on two consecutive days and the butterflies had me all aflutter.
Every time I've gone up into the Wasatch Mountains lately I have been searching and listening for Cedar Waxwings to observe and photograph.
Eight days ago I photographed my first male Yellow Warbler of the year and two days ago I had some luck with my first females of the season.
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 enjoyed being able to take portraits of this Pronghorn buck in nice light as he nibbled on the leaves of the sagebrush that dots the island.
I can't imagine not seeing these beautiful Mountain Bluebirds feeding, breeding and raising their young in the mountains that are close to where I live.
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.
It seems that I have spent a lot of time photographing Willow Flycatchers this year and I am happy that I have because I enjoying taking photos of these flycatchers.
My persistence and knowledge of a Willow Flycatcher's territory paid off again yesterday morning when the flycatcher flew in close and landed on a willow branch not far from where I sat in my Jeep.
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.
While I know that for some people this Green-tailed Towhee image might be a "little out there" for their tastes and personal preferences I don't photograph birds for them, I photograph birds for me.
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.
Some days one good bird is all I get and if I hadn't spotted this cooperative Mockingbird on a Fragrant Sumac in northern Utah yesterday I would have been mostly skunked.
Even though this adult Cedar Waxwing is small in the frame because I photographed it from quite a distance it is one of my favorite images taken in the Wasatch Mountains four days ago.
I spent some time up in the canyons of the Wasatch Mountains yesterday photographing the birds I found including this handsome Green-tailed Towhee perched on a blooming Utah Serviceberry.
I was in far northern Utah yesterday and saw the hawks I expected to see but finding this Great Horned Owl was a bit of a surprise since I wasn't looking for Great Horned Owls.
Lately it has been wonderful to see and photograph more birds including raptors. I think the long dry spell that started the end of July might be over finally.
But for me the "Snow Birds" I have grown to love here in Utah are Rough-legged Hawks who only visit in the winter and spend the rest of their lives breeding in high subarctic and Arctic regions.