{"id":39866,"date":"2016-06-04T04:00:17","date_gmt":"2016-06-04T10:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=39866"},"modified":"2025-06-18T10:14:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T15:14:10","slug":"centennial-valley-eastern-kingbird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/06\/04\/centennial-valley-eastern-kingbird\/","title":{"rendered":"Centennial Valley Eastern Kingbird"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-148958 size-full\" title=\"Centennial Valley Eastern Kingbird adult, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-wire-mia-mcpherson-8087.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-wire-mia-mcpherson-8087.jpg\" alt=\"Centennial Valley Eastern Kingbird adult, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-wire-mia-mcpherson-8087-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-wire-mia-mcpherson-8087-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-wire-mia-mcpherson-8087-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-wire-mia-mcpherson-8087-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-wire-mia-mcpherson-8087-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-wire-mia-mcpherson-8087.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Centennial Valley Eastern Kingbird adult &#8211; Nikon D810, f9, 1\/800, ISO 400, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Mountain Bluebirds and this Centennial Valley Eastern Kingbird were the first two bird species I photographed on this trip to Montana and Idaho. The Mountain Bluebirds I photographed were already feeding young in the nest boxes along the road and I hope that the valley doesn&#8217;t get a long cold snap now because that could mean the demise of the first broods, last year that happened and the bluebirds re-nested.<\/p>\n<p>When I spotted this Eastern Kingbird on the barbed wire fence I didn&#8217;t think it would stick around long enough to get images of it but it did and not only that but it actually flew in close enough for me to get frame filling images of it using full frame (FX) mode on my D810. I was pleased!<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t see any other Eastern Kingbirds nearby so perhaps this bird hasn&#8217;t found a mate yet.\u00a0 But that probably won&#8217;t be an issue for long.<\/p>\n<p>All the birds seem to have found a mate, have a mate on eggs, have a mate with chicks or are searching for one right now. I sure can tell it is breeding season!<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/eastern-kingbird-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Eastern Kingbird photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mountain Bluebirds and this Centennial Valley Eastern Kingbird were the first two bird species I photographed on this trip to Montana and Idaho.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":148958,"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":[1513,27,223,1519,12,608],"tags":[4004,4430,4073,1521,3830,3808,4884,3791,3772,4104,1635,5434],"class_list":["post-39866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-centennial-valley","category-eastern-kingbirds","category-montana","category-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-adult","tag-barbed-wire","tag-breeding-season","tag-eastern-kingbird","tag-fence","tag-flycatcher","tag-flycatchers","tag-kingbird","tag-kingbirds","tag-perched","tag-tyrannus-tyrannus","tag-valley"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-wire-mia-mcpherson-8087.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-an0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9293,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/08\/31\/an-eastern-kingbird-in-southwestern-montana\/","url_meta":{"origin":39866,"position":0},"title":"An Eastern Kingbird in Southwestern Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Eastern Kingbirds; like their western counterpart, are fearless and will attack birds as large as Bald Eagles to defend their nests.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Beaverhead County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eastern Kingbird in the Centennial Valley of Montana, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3834.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3834.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3834.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":147589,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/05\/29\/eastern-kingbird-at-lower-scarborough-slough\/","url_meta":{"origin":39866,"position":1},"title":"Eastern Kingbird At Lower Scarborough Slough","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The last time I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma in May, I photographed this handsome Eastern Kingbird at Lower Scarborough Slough.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Eastern Kingbird at Lower Scarborough Slough, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/eastern-kingbird-lower-scarborough-slough-mia-mcpherson-7493.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/eastern-kingbird-lower-scarborough-slough-mia-mcpherson-7493.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/eastern-kingbird-lower-scarborough-slough-mia-mcpherson-7493.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/eastern-kingbird-lower-scarborough-slough-mia-mcpherson-7493.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128683,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/23\/spring-eastern-kingbird-photos-from-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":39866,"position":2},"title":"Spring Eastern Kingbird Photos From Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Since my arrival in Oklahoma, I've had fun taking Eastern Kingbird photos at the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. I've seen dozens of these kingbirds there.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eastern Kingbird perched in a mulberry, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/eastern-kingbird-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-0547.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/eastern-kingbird-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-0547.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/eastern-kingbird-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-0547.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/eastern-kingbird-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-0547.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21167,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/03\/eastern-kingbird-on-the-road-to-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":39866,"position":3},"title":"Eastern Kingbird On The Road To Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I only have time for a quick post this morning and decided to post one of the migrant kingbirds I look forward to seeing every year, an Eastern Kingbird.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eastern Kingbird on the road to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-5992.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-5992.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-5992.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36910,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/09\/western-and-eastern-kingbird-juveniles\/","url_meta":{"origin":39866,"position":4},"title":"Western and Eastern Kingbird Juveniles","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I feel fortunate that I am able to see and photograph both the Western and Eastern Kingbird juveniles here in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Eastern Kingbird perched on a fence post at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-2786.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-2786.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-2786.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/eastern-kingbird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-2786.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":106116,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/09\/12\/young-eastern-kingbird\/","url_meta":{"origin":39866,"position":5},"title":"Young Eastern Kingbird","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was driving around the auto tour loop of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge last month, I had a nice opportunity to photograph a young Eastern Kingbird.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Eastern Kingbird close up, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, 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