{"id":53535,"date":"2018-08-12T05:48:16","date_gmt":"2018-08-12T11:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=53535"},"modified":"2025-08-15T04:53:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T09:53:29","slug":"warbling-vireo-in-a-wasatch-mountain-canyon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/08\/12\/warbling-vireo-in-a-wasatch-mountain-canyon\/","title":{"rendered":"Warbling Vireo In A Wasatch Mountain Canyon"},"content":{"rendered":"

So far obtaining high quality vireo images have eluded me, sure I have taken images of them in Florida, Montana and here in Utah but none of them have been up to my standards for various reasons. For instance, I have photos of vireos taken in Montana and Florida but the birds were partially hidden by leaves and branches, some of the photos taken here in Utah had the vireos out in the open but the birds are way too small in the frame so the images were mostly taken for ID purposes.<\/p>\n

\"WarblingWarbling Vireo in a mountain canyon – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

My experiences with vireos have shown me that they are as challenging to photograph as the hyperactive Ruby-crowned Kinglets and flitty warblers, they just don’t stay still and they tend to stay high up in treetops. Vireos are kind of a nemesis species for me.<\/p>\n

Two days ago I photographed a Warbling Vireo<\/span><\/a> mostly out in the open that stayed still long enough for me to fire off a burst of 24 shots. The photos aren’t great due in part to the out of focus serviceberry on the left side of the frame but to date this is my best photo of this species. I’m going to use this photo as a placeholder in my photo galleries until I take better photos of the species.<\/p>\n

I drove up into the canyon again yesterday and my hope was to take better photos of Warbling Vireos but the photographic and bird gods weren’t smiling on me, there was visible smoke in the canyon that has come up from the fires to the south, there was a good breeze blowing which seemed to keep most of the birds down or in cover and worst of all there was a cloud from hell that kept blocking the sun which left me with low light situations for most of the morning. My chances of getting the Warbling Vireo photos I have dreamed of were awful but I went up into the canyon anyway. Predictably I was practically skunked and the only photos I took of one single Warbling Vireo had the bird too small in the frame.<\/p>\n

I am going to keep trying to get those photos until the vireos head south on migration.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Life is also a challenge I am ready to meet.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

My chances of getting the Warbling Vireo photos I have dreamed of were awful but I went up into the canyon anyway. 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Vireo Split – Eastern And Western Warbling-Vireos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Some birders may have added a new life bird yesterday when the AOS split the Warbling Vireo into two species: Eastern and Western Warbling-Vireo.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Summer Western Warbling-Vireo in the Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/warbling-vireo-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-1300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/warbling-vireo-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-1300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I was delighted when I spotted a Warbling Vireo at the top of some nearby willows and that the vireo stayed long enough for me to take a few photos of it.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Warbling Vireo perched in willows, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/warbling-vireo-in-willow-mia-mcpherson-5943.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/warbling-vireo-in-willow-mia-mcpherson-5943.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/warbling-vireo-in-willow-mia-mcpherson-5943.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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I was excited to see it.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Warbling Vireo with ripe chokecherries, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/warbling-vireo-chokecherries-mia-mcpherson-5257.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/warbling-vireo-chokecherries-mia-mcpherson-5257.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/warbling-vireo-chokecherries-mia-mcpherson-5257.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/warbling-vireo-chokecherries-mia-mcpherson-5257.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54338,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/09\/28\/plumbeous-vireos-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":53535,"position":4},"title":"Plumbeous Vireos in the Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I've shared photographs of Warbling Vireos here before but this is the first time that I am sharing photos of Plumbeous Vireos, these images were taken earlier this month in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Morgan County"","block_context":{"text":"Morgan County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/morgan-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Plumbeous Vireo giving me a curious look, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/plumbeous-vireo-adult-mia-mcpherson-9156.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/plumbeous-vireo-adult-mia-mcpherson-9156.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/plumbeous-vireo-adult-mia-mcpherson-9156.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/plumbeous-vireo-adult-mia-mcpherson-9156.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53950,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/09\/04\/warbling-vireo-with-autumn-colors-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":53535,"position":5},"title":"Warbling Vireo With Autumn Colors In Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I looked up and spotted a Warbling Vireo not only out in the open plus it had gorgeous fall colors in the background. 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