{"id":49652,"date":"2017-12-03T06:26:50","date_gmt":"2017-12-03T13:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=49652"},"modified":"2026-04-25T06:10:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T11:10:24","slug":"nemesis-birds-bushtit-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/03\/nemesis-birds-bushtit-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Nemesis Birds – Bushtit Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was early in the morning when I photographed this female Bushtit. There was a flock of Bushtits and gnatcatchers foraging together.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Bushtit at the Flaming Gorge Dam – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 800, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Bushtits are a nemesis bird for me, I have only had a few opportunities to photograph these tiny, frenetic birds and I have yet to get high quality images of them. I’ve only seen them a few times. I’ve heard them a bit more often but still they remain out of reach for the images of them that I desire.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I saw a flock of them in Ophir Canyon in Tooele County and only got a few images where most of the bird was out in the open.<\/p>\n

It reminded me of seeing a small flock of them at the Flaming Gorge Dam<\/span><\/a> in Daggett County, Utah back in September of 2011. The best photos I was able to obtain didn’t show the entire bird because of vegetation in the way, or the light was harsh on one part of the bird, and the rest of it was in shadows.<\/p>\n

Or having the entire bird in shadows were I could barely make out their features.<\/p>\n

This is the best photo I was able to get of that female Bushtit. I remember feeling so disappointed when they all flew off and that this was the best photo I had gotten.<\/p>\n

This Bushtit image won’t make into my photo galleries, there is simply too much that is wrong<\/em> with it. I only kept a few images from that day to remind me that I need better photos of this species.<\/p>\n

I also remember camping near Capitol Reef National Park in Torrey, Utah where I kept hearing a twittering call that I was trying to identify. I turned on my iBird Pro app and scrolled through some calls of birds I thought I might be hearing.<\/p>\n

When I played the calls of Bushtits the birds flew right towards me, some of them within less than 10 feet. I was quite astonished by how many Bushtits there were. And guess what? I didn’t have my camera at hand because I was simply trying to figure out what birds I was hearing.<\/p>\n

I don’t use recordings to call birds in close to me anyhow so I had great views of the birds but no photos.<\/p>\n

Turn your volume way up, they are hard to hear in this recording<\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Bushtit in Ophir Canyon – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

So yesterday in Ophir Canyon this was the best photo I obtained of a female Bushtit foraging in the rabbitbrush. The light on the bird wasn’t the best, the setting was super messy, and she blends right in with the color of the vegetation around her.<\/p>\n

I wish she stood out more. I don’t know if this image will make it into my photo galleries. Maybe it will but it will just act as a placeholder until I take better photos of this species.<\/p>\n

Maybe one day I’ll find a flock of Bushtits<\/span><\/a> out in the open in wonderful light and get the photos of them that I desire. Maybe I won’t but it is okay to dream.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Bushtits are a nemesis bird for me, I have only had a few opportunities to photograph these tiny, frenetic birds and I have yet to get high quality images of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127124,"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":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,6255,3464,981,4886,358,26,1314],"tags":[6257,5918,1197,4136,5426,5536,6256,4289,6258],"class_list":["post-49652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-bushtits","category-daggett-county","category-flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area","category-ophir-canyon","category-tooele-county","category-utah","category-west-desert-utah","tag-bushtit","tag-females","tag-flaming-gorge-dam","tag-foraging","tag-light-eyes","tag-nemesis","tag-psaltriparus-minimus","tag-rabbitbrush","tag-twittering"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/bushtit-female-mia-mcpherson-0089.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cUQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":74668,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/10\/14\/foraging-autumn-bushtits-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":49652,"position":0},"title":"Foraging Autumn Bushtits In Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Seeing and photographing the Bushtits in northern Utah was a gift that I didn't expect yesterday and I am grateful to finally have images of them that I like.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Bushtit clinging to a hackberry leaf, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/bushtit-adult-male-hackberry-mia-mcpherson-6985.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/bushtit-adult-male-hackberry-mia-mcpherson-6985.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/bushtit-adult-male-hackberry-mia-mcpherson-6985.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/bushtit-adult-male-hackberry-mia-mcpherson-6985.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49732,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/08\/mountain-chickadee-in-ophir-canyon\/","url_meta":{"origin":49652,"position":1},"title":"Mountain Chickadee in Ophir Canyon","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week while photographing birds in Ophir Canyon I was able to take a short series of photos of a Mountain Chickadee perched in a juniper right after I photographed some bushtits.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mountain Chickadee perched in Juniper, Ophir Canyon, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/mountain-chickadee-ophir-mia-mcpherson-0115.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/mountain-chickadee-ophir-mia-mcpherson-0115.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/mountain-chickadee-ophir-mia-mcpherson-0115.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/mountain-chickadee-ophir-mia-mcpherson-0115.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4348,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/02\/09\/flaming-gorge-national-recreation-a\/","url_meta":{"origin":49652,"position":2},"title":"Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last September I visited Flaming Gorge National Recreation area for the first time. Wow, nature never ceases to delight and amaze me.","rel":"","context":"In "Bighorn Sheep"","block_context":{"text":"Bighorn Sheep","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/bighorn-sheep\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"View of Flaming Gorge from the Dowd Mountain Overlook, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Daggett County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60228,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/09\/15\/douglas-firs-bird-food-grown-stored-and-served-in-handy-cones\/","url_meta":{"origin":49652,"position":3},"title":"Douglas Firs – Bird Food Grown, Stored And Served in Handy Cones","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The cones of Douglas Firs provide food for birds and mammals and the trees provide shelter and nesting areas too. I've been paying attention to the Douglas Firs we have here for several years because of the birds I know I can find eating the seeds of the trees from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Douglas Fir cone in morning light, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/douglas-fir-cone-mia-mcpherson-7231.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/douglas-fir-cone-mia-mcpherson-7231.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/douglas-fir-cone-mia-mcpherson-7231.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/douglas-fir-cone-mia-mcpherson-7231.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8387,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/05\/18\/ospreys-of-flaming-gorge\/","url_meta":{"origin":49652,"position":4},"title":"Ospreys of Flaming Gorge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year at about this same time these Ospreys were busy building their nest while this year they were already sitting on eggs at Flaming Gorge.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The beauty of Flaming Gorge as seen from the boat launch at Antelope Flat, Daggett County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4880.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4880.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4880.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4880.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5112,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/06\/01\/female-ospreys-have-flare\/","url_meta":{"origin":49652,"position":5},"title":"Female Ospreys Have Flare!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay. 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