Song Sparrow In Molt
Two days ago I photographed a molting Song Sparrow as it perched on an old wooden post high in a mountain canyon in beautiful morning light.
Two days ago I photographed a molting Song Sparrow as it perched on an old wooden post high in a mountain canyon in beautiful morning light.
I photographed some birds yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains but it was the blooming Common Sunflower with an ant that made me smile the most when I saw it on my screen.
After a week at home because of smoky skies I ventured into the mountains and one of the first birds I photographed was this worn looking Green-tailed Towhee.
The photo I shared today isn't of anything special. It is a West Desert mountain range view. That smokeless blue sky though? I'd give so much to see that again here today.
This young Cedar Waxwing may look like it is yawning, calling, or begging for food because of its wide open bill.
My subject was actually a slightly messy Orange-crowned Warbler perched on a branch looking down at the ground.
I haven't seen as many chipmunks this year as I normally do so when I spotted this adult Least Chipmunk on a fence post I wanted to focus on the little furball.
The first time I raised my lens yesterday morning it was for blooming Prickly Poppies that were along the shoulder of the bumpy gravel road.
Yesterday morning I was delighted to take a nice series of young MacGillivray's Warbler images not long after the sun lit up the willow thicket it was foraging in.
One year ago this morning I had a relaxing experience photographing a young Red Fox in an alpine meadow high in the Wasatch Mountains.
Two days ago in between taking Willow Flycatcher photos in the Wasatch Mountains I took blooming Common Mullein images because they were nearby.
There are times I take cruddy photos on purpose when I know that my view of the entire bird is obstructed and that I might only have a partial view of the bird.
This morning I wanted to keep my post short and sweet and sharing juvenile Mountain Bluebird images is pretty sweet I think.
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.
Yesterday morning the second bird I photographed was a Yellow Warbler on an old branch in a smoky haze high in the Wasatch Mountains.
I haven't seen any Spotted Sandpiper chicks in a location in the Wasatch Mountains where I normally see them at this time of the year but I have these from last summer.
In late summer I see Nashville and MacGillivray’s Warblers in the same locations and habitats foraging for the same food, aphids.
What I missed seeing was that the immature Belted Kingfisher had spider webs stuck to its face in a long series of photos that I took of it next to a creek in the Wasatch Mountains.
This is a female Great Spangled Fritillary, a butterfly species that can be abundant in the Wasatch Mountains at this time of the year.
Last week I photographed a fritillary butterfly photobomb a Two-tailed Swallowtail butterfly as it nectared on a Showy Milkweed high in the Wasatch Mountains.
Blue Elderberry shrubs are blooming right now high in the Wasatch Mountains. Two days ago I took a few photos of the elderberry blossoms.
I started my morning off yesterday in the Wasatch Mountains photographing an American Mink family that appeared on the bank of a creek.
The last bird I photographed high in the Wasatch Mountains three days ago was an adult Turkey Vulture perched in an aspen in a smoky haze.
When I returned home and could view my images on a large screen I was able to identify this swallowtail butterfly as a male Two-tailed Swallowtail.
I couldn't escape the smoke that is covering Utah even high in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday but I was delighted to photograph a Least Chipmunk and wildflowers through the smoky haze.
Last week before the smoke started to darken the skies in northern Utah I had a few seconds to photograph an adult Cliff Swallow next to a steep mountain road.
Three days ago I was delighted to have both an immature and an adult male Belted Kingfisher in my viewfinder as I sat next to a creek in the mountains.
Yesterday morning I was high in the Wasatch Mountains photographing bees on a Musk Thistle when a Pine Siskin landed on the flower.
I watched as the mink dashed across the shallow creek with the sandpiper in its jaws, climbed over a log, and out of my sight. That Spotted Sandpiper is no more.
I photographed this adult House Wren last week while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains looking for birds and cooling off in higher elevation temperatures.