{"id":14576,"date":"2014-03-18T05:40:24","date_gmt":"2014-03-18T11:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=14576"},"modified":"2024-04-08T04:00:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T10:00:10","slug":"a-bouquet-of-black-rosy-finches-at-capitol-reef-national-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/18\/a-bouquet-of-black-rosy-finches-at-capitol-reef-national-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Bouquet of Black Rosy-Finches at Capitol Reef National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BlackBlack Rosy-Finches – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/320, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or called in<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the biggest surprises for me on my recent trip to southern Utah was coming across a “bouquet” of 500 or more Black Rosy-Finches that were foraging along the side of Utah State Highway 24.<\/p>\n

The lighting was horrible and at first I could not ID the birds because of them being in the shade. The fact that the finches were moving very quickly made it even harder.\u00a0 As soon as I was able to scope them out with my lens I said “Black Rosy-Finches!”<\/p>\n

Lifers! Eureka!<\/p>\n

During the breeding season Black Rosy-Finches<\/span><\/a> (Leucosticte atrata<\/em>) are found at elevations of over 10,000 feet but they do winter at lower elevations. The flock I saw apparently hadn’t started to move to their breeding grounds.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned the birds moved very quickly and stayed primarily in the shade so I wasn’t able to get close up images or even images of high quality. But I was entranced by the small birds and hope that one day I will be able to get the images I now long for of these small beautiful birds.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my bird ph0tos in their galleries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest surprises for me on my recent trip to southern Utah was coming across a “bouquet” of 500 or more Black Rosy-Finches that were foraging along the side of Utah State Highway 24. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,2488,1427,26],"tags":[4004,4021,4083,2490,2491,4247,2489,4035,4562,4032],"class_list":["post-14576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-black-rosy-finches","category-capitol-reef-national-park-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-bird-photography","tag-birding","tag-black-rosy-finch","tag-bouquet","tag-flock","tag-leucosticte-atrata","tag-nature-photography","tag-wayne-county","tag-wildlife-photography"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/black-rosy-finch-flock-mia-mcpherson-4510.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3N6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":97200,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/10\/orange-variant-male-house-finch-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":14576,"position":0},"title":"Orange Variant Male House Finch Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I had the opportunity to take a nice long series of an orange variant male House Finch while it ate the seeds of a greasewood.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Orange variant male House Finch, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/house-finch-male-orange-variant-mia-mcpherson-2791.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/house-finch-male-orange-variant-mia-mcpherson-2791.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/house-finch-male-orange-variant-mia-mcpherson-2791.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/house-finch-male-orange-variant-mia-mcpherson-2791.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39883,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/06\/18\/male-cassins-finch-in-clark-county\/","url_meta":{"origin":14576,"position":1},"title":"Male Cassin’s Finch in Clark County, Idaho","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"At times the male Cassin's Finch looked like he was on alert but I can't be sure why, it might have been because of the other finches nearby or that he was keeping an eye out for predators in the sky.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Alert male Cassin's Finch on a conifer, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/cassins-finch-male-mia-mcpherson-8307.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/cassins-finch-male-mia-mcpherson-8307.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/cassins-finch-male-mia-mcpherson-8307.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/cassins-finch-male-mia-mcpherson-8307.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":139028,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/29\/female-purple-finch-in-an-arkansas-snowstorm\/","url_meta":{"origin":14576,"position":2},"title":"Female Purple Finch In An Arkansas Snowstorm","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I almost forgot! I wanted to share this photo of a female Purple Finch near a seed feeder taken during the snowstorm that hit Arkansas earlier this month.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Purple Finch in a snowstorm in Arkansas, Sebastian County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/purple-finch-snow-female-mia-mcpherson-0580.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/purple-finch-snow-female-mia-mcpherson-0580.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/purple-finch-snow-female-mia-mcpherson-0580.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/purple-finch-snow-female-mia-mcpherson-0580.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":140381,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/20\/winter-male-purple-finch-images-plus-a-fun-bonus-photo\/","url_meta":{"origin":14576,"position":3},"title":"Winter Male Purple Finch Images Plus A Fun Bonus Photo","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"After the sleet, ice, and snow from the recent winter storm, I was thrilled to have a Purple Finch in my viewfinder for a bit\u2014even though it was bitter cold.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Purple Finch after a snowstorm, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/purple-finch-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-3964.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/purple-finch-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-3964.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/purple-finch-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-3964.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/purple-finch-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-3964.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":117082,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/16\/male-house-finch-color-comparisons\/","url_meta":{"origin":14576,"position":4},"title":"Male House Finch Color Comparisons","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this male House Finch at Farmington Bay WMA 3 days ago. I noticed that he seemed dull compared to male House Finches I saw in Arkansas this year.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dull male House Finch in Utah, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-adult-male-utah-mia-mcpherson-4025.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-adult-male-utah-mia-mcpherson-4025.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-adult-male-utah-mia-mcpherson-4025.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-adult-male-utah-mia-mcpherson-4025.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":137657,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/03\/purple-finch-finally\/","url_meta":{"origin":14576,"position":5},"title":"Purple Finch – Finally!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been waiting since the end of summer to see a Purple Finch show up, and yesterday I finally photographed a single female above the seed feeder!","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Purple Finch at the feeder, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/purple-finch-female-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5312.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/purple-finch-female-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5312.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/purple-finch-female-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5312.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/purple-finch-female-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5312.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}