{"id":102382,"date":"2022-05-14T05:34:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-14T11:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=102382"},"modified":"2024-08-20T18:26:32","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T23:26:32","slug":"spring-male-blue-gray-gnatcatcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/05\/14\/spring-male-blue-gray-gnatcatcher\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was thrilled to find and photograph a male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in spring breeding plumage yesterday at the edge of a juniper woodland in Tooele County. This is a species I hear far more often than I am able to photograph them.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in a flowering tree \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was driving very slowly downhill on a dirt road. When I heard this male calling and singing<\/span><\/a> from the trees at the edge of the road I stopped my Jeep immediately. If I hadn’t done that along with carefully listening and by paying attention I wouldn’t be sharing these Blue-gray Gnatcatcher photos today. I only had this bird in my viewfinder for one minute.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher looking curious \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher moved around in the trees at the edge of the road frequently. I suspect there may have been another male or even a female gnatcatcher nearby because this bird’s excited behavior.<\/p>\n

I have challenges tracking and focusing on this species because they are tiny and fast.<\/p>\n

This was my favorite image of the gnatcatcher from yesterday. I loved the curious look I appeared to be getting from him.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in breeding plumage \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

As I photographed this male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher I enjoyed listening to his wheezy calls and his songs. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers mimic the songs of other birds and are sometimes called “Little Mockingbirds” because of their mimicry.<\/p>\n

\"SingingSinging Blue-gray Gnatcatcher \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I appreciated it when for a few seconds that he sang out from the open on top of a weathered juniper stump. I had a wonderful view of the gnatcatcher.<\/p>\n

\"SquintingSquinting male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

During their breeding season male Blue-gray Gnatcatchers have a black “V” on their foreheads above their eyes. I think this gives them a somewhat fierce “Uni-brow” look. This one doesn’t look nearly as fierce because he was squinting.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Blue-gray Gnatcatcher singing \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Having this singing male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in my viewfinder was one of the highlights of my quiet, peaceful morning yesterday in the West Desert of Utah.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Blue-gray Gnatcatcher photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was thrilled to find and photograph a male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in spring breeding plumage yesterday at the edge of a juniper woodland in Tooele County.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":102352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,6135,358,26,1314],"tags":[4004,6134,4897,6577,4053,6010,4098,6496,9115,6147,12882,4674,6865,4062,4069,4104,6136,4179,10452,165,11073,4427],"class_list":["post-102382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-blue-gray-gnatcatchers","category-tooele-county","category-utah","category-west-desert-utah","tag-adult","tag-blue-gray-gnatcatcher","tag-branch","tag-branches","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-curious","tag-desert","tag-flowering-tree","tag-gnatcatcher","tag-gnatcatchers","tag-juniper-woodland","tag-junipers","tag-looking","tag-male","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-polioptila-caerulea","tag-singing-2","tag-sky-island-mountains","tag-spring","tag-squinting","tag-tree"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/blue-gray-gnatcatcher-in-spring-mia-mcpherson-3299.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-qDk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49199,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/10\/30\/blue-gray-gnatcatcher-american-goldfinch-american-tree-sparrow-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":102382,"position":0},"title":"Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Goldfinch & American Tree Sparrow in Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent time photographing primarily small birds yesterday in northern Utah which included Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, American Goldfinches and American Tree Sparrows.","rel":"","context":"In "American Goldfinches"","block_context":{"text":"American Goldfinches","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/finches-and-allies\/american-goldfinches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Tree Sparrow in the shadows, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/american-tree-sparrow-autumn-mia-mcpherson-4271.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/american-tree-sparrow-autumn-mia-mcpherson-4271.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/american-tree-sparrow-autumn-mia-mcpherson-4271.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/american-tree-sparrow-autumn-mia-mcpherson-4271.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":129366,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/10\/young-blue-gray-gnatcatcher-at-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":102382,"position":1},"title":"Young Blue-gray Gnatcatcher At Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I couldn't resist photographing this sweet young Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on my most recent trip to Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. Why would I, anyway?","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Johnston County, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/blue-gray-gnatcatcher-young-tishomingo-mia-mcpherson-3094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/blue-gray-gnatcatcher-young-tishomingo-mia-mcpherson-3094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/blue-gray-gnatcatcher-young-tishomingo-mia-mcpherson-3094.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/yellow-rumped-warbler-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherosn-7026.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/yellow-rumped-warbler-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherosn-7026.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/yellow-rumped-warbler-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherosn-7026.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/yellow-rumped-warbler-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherosn-7026.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":132833,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/21\/blue-gray-gnatcatcher-plus-a-blue-supermoon\/","url_meta":{"origin":102382,"position":3},"title":"Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Plus A Blue Supermoon","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The theme for today is blue subjects: Photos of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on a driftwood perch, along with a Blue Supermoon image from early yesterday morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blue-gray Gnatcatcher landing on driftwood, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blue-gray-gnatcatcher-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-3702.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blue-gray-gnatcatcher-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-3702.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":129190,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/05\/oklahoma-move-update-landing-western-cattle-egret\/","url_meta":{"origin":102382,"position":5},"title":"Oklahoma Move Update – Landing Western Cattle Egret","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This landing Cattle Egret is slightly symbolic of my arrival in a new state and seeing the birds and wildlife of Oklahoma right outside my back door every day.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Landing Western Cattle Egret, Marshall County, 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