Spending time photographing Yellow Warblers can try the patience of even the most patient photographer because they are so flighty, small and move quickly but it can also be rewarding when you get photos that you like.
That sighting with my Mom made me hope that I would see more Lazuli Buntings in the canyons, yesterday morning that hope was fulfilled when I spotted a first spring male fly into a blooming Chokecherry tree.
I had fun yesterday morning photographing a male Green-tailed Towhee singing in a mountain canyon, this was a bird I heard before I spotted him perched on a flowering branch.
It was a wonderful morning spotting both the Ferruginous and Swainson's Hawks, seeing quite a few other first of season birds and spending time photographing the Marsh Wren while he was busy constructing his nest.
It just seemed fitting on St Patrick's Day to post something with a bit of green in it so I selected this House Wren photo I took in May of 2014 in the Targhee National Forest in Clark County, Idaho.
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.
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.
One good bird can make the the day when photographing birds in the field, yesterday that bird was a male Green-tailed Towhee I spotted perched on a shrub in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains.
Even though it is late May there are still male Red-winged Blackbirds displaying and singing their little hearts out here in northern Utah and that is what this male blackbird was doing.
I couldn't resist photographing this tiny Chipping Sparrow singing while perched on a "cedar" fence post with the sky and dark juniper behind it.
This beautiful little Lark Sparrow was so busy singing that it was a very cooperative subject and I took quite a few images of it as it sang and changed positions on the gnarly old fence post.
I was so happy to photograph this mixture of spring birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge that I had a hard time picking out which birds and which photos to share.
Three days ago while out on Antelope Island State Park under cloudy skies I was able to observe a glimpse into the mating behaviors of a pair of Western Meadowlarks.
On my last two trips up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I have heard Savannah Sparrows singing "sit sit sit sit suh-EEEEE say" from somewhere in the marshes.
Five evenings ago I was able to photograph a cooperative Vesper Sparrow in Montana's Centennial Valley.
Yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was able to photograph several first spring Red-winged Blackbird males.
Both of these Loggerhead Shrikes were photographed on Antelope Island State Park, both of them are adults, both were photographed when the sky was clear and both were perched on a dead twig of a greasewood but they were also photographed with different backgrounds, different times of the morning and different light.
The males will start singing before too long and the Marsh Wren nesting season in Utah will begin.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge looks beautiful this time of the year so I took a few images of it with my cell phone and a short video when I was there two days ago.
I started my morning yesterday on Antelope Island State Park with a mated pair of singing Song Dogs.
I might need to go wandering up the canyons and Sky Line Drive soon just to see what birds and creatures I can find.
Yesterday was bright and sunny in the Centennial Valley and after hearing this White-crowned Sparrow singing I felt like breaking out in song too.
It was nice to photograph this Northern Mockingbird singing in between the clouds and rain yesterday on Antelope Island State Park.
For the past week I have been anxiously awaiting my first sighting of Lark Sparrows and yesterday I finally saw them.
Can the disappearance of Sagebrush Seas be stopped? Yes, it could be but we need lawmakers that believe in science and act on it.
It was chilly yesterday on Antelope Island but the Western Meadowlarks were singing from perches on rocks and on top of sagebrush.
Yesterday there was a springtime chorus being sung almost every where on Antelope Island and the flute-like melody of the Western Meadowlarks resonated the loudest.
For a few days now I said I was going to do a post about the House Wrens I photographed at the same nesting tree as the Williamson's Sapsuckers, here it is.
When I lived in Florida I saw Northern Mockingbirds all the time but they are not so common here in Utah and typically I only see a pair or two during the whole breeding season.
I spent some time yesterday on Antelope Island State Park photographing and listening to a very cooperative and melodious Sage Thrasher.