Spring Northern Mockingbird Photos From Arkansas
At my friend Steve Creek's home, I listen to a Northern Mockingbird sing around the clock. The mockingbird sings practically all the time, day and night.
At my friend Steve Creek's home, I listen to a Northern Mockingbird sing around the clock. The mockingbird sings practically all the time, day and night.
Towards the end of last month I found a Sage Thrasher high in the mountains in riparian habitat which surprised me. A lot.
March 13th is an anniversary of sorts for me. The date is the earliest that I have seen and photographed a Sage Thrasher in northern Utah.
Sage Thrashers are only in Utah for their breeding season and by now all their chicks have fledged and are feeding on their own.
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.
The month of May is nearly upon us and for me that means it is time to start looking and listening for my first of year Gray Catbird.
The second bird I photographed yesterday morning on Antelope Island State Park was an adult Sage Thrasher in gorgeous early morning light.
Sage Thrashers return to northern Utah in March and it is now time for me to start listening for their songs and melodies.
Eleven days ago I photographed an adult Sage Thrasher regurgitating the seed of a sumac berry that was so close I could barely fit the thrasher in the frame.
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.
I don’t think it was a “King of the castle” kind of behavior going on but what do I know, I am not a bird!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The birds I photographed on the wild rose bushes were adult and immature Sage Thrashers, an adult White-crowned Sparrow and one beautiful Northern Mockingbird.
I have truly been enjoying being able to photograph Gray Catbirds this spring and summer because they are challenging to get out in the open, because I think they are dashing in appearance and their songs always delight me.
I'm going to keep trying to obtain better photos of the Gray Catbirds with the Black Twinberry berries and perhaps before long the catbirds will bring their young to feast on these berries too!
Gray Catbirds aren't flashy and except for the spot of cinnamon colored feathers under their tails they are mostly an overall gray with a black cap. While their appearance isn't dazzling the variety of songs they sing certainly can be.
I enjoyed my time yesterday morning photographing the Gray Catbird and the Hound's Tongue in bloom but I really wish I had been as happy with my catbird photos as I am the wildflower images.
I can barely wait to see my first Sage Thrasher of the year warming up on a rock in front of the Great Salt Lake, scurrying along on the ground, perched on top of sage or rabbitbrush singing or displaying.
I was delighted to be able to photograph a Gray Catbird in a willow thicket yesterday up in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains.
Gray Catbirds are related to mockingbirds and thrashers and are in the family Mimidae and all of them are noted for their vocalizations and their ability to mimic a wide variety of bird songs and calls and human made sounds.
Yesterday I had an immature Sage Thrasher get so close to me that I was able to take portraits of it as it perched out in the open.
This Sage Thrasher and Lark Sparrow on rabbitbrush are only two of the birds that benefit from the rabbitbrush on Antelope Island.
I didn't get to see Greater Sage Grouse on my recent trip to southern Utah but I did get a few brief looks at another sagebrush obligate when a single Sage Thrasher popped up into view.
I am always happy to photograph Swainson's Hawks no matter where I find them so I was pleased to find this one perched on a lichen covered rock yesterday in Box Elder County, Utah.
It was nice to photograph this Northern Mockingbird singing in between the clouds and rain yesterday on Antelope Island State Park.
Yesterday I had my first opportunity to photograph a Sage Thrasher with nesting materials in its bill on Antelope Island State Park.