{"id":58171,"date":"2019-05-27T06:13:20","date_gmt":"2019-05-27T12:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=58171"},"modified":"2025-05-31T13:56:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T18:56:13","slug":"singing-gray-catbird-close-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/05\/27\/singing-gray-catbird-close-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Singing Gray Catbird Close Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SingingSinging Gray Catbird – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Gray Catbirds have returned to northern Utah for their breeding season and I am thrilled to be hearing their songs and calls again. Two days ago I listened to a catbird singing in the Wasatch Mountains, most of the time the bird was behind branches and leaves so I didn’t take many photos of it when it was hidden from my view.<\/p>\n

Listen to the song of a Gray Catbird here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

I photographed warblers, hummingbirds and a mystery flycatcher while I listened to the Gray Catbird singing as it moved in and around the trees and shrubs in front of me and all the while I kept hoping the catbird would pop up into an open area where I could photograph it.<\/p>\n

I kept an eye on the catbird when I wasn’t focusing on the other birds that came through the area and then I caught a flash of gray in the willows that were close and the catbird popped up onto a branch that was so close to me that I opted to take portraits of the bird instead of removing my teleconverter to take full body images. I was only able to take about two dozen images of the catbird before a vehicle flushed it into hiding from my view again.<\/p>\n

I wish the twigs behind the catbird and over its head weren’t there but this is the view I had.<\/p>\n

It was wonderful to be serenaded by a Gray Catbird in the mountains and I hope to be able to hear more of them soon but it won’t be today because of the weather.<\/p>\n

\"Weather

Weather Map – May 27, 2019<\/p><\/div>\n

I know we always need moisture here in the desert but honestly, the gray days and rain are getting old.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Gray Catbird photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gray Catbirds have returned to northern Utah for their breeding season and I am thrilled to be hearing their songs and calls again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147673,"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":[27,3605,1731,26,773],"tags":[4004,3940,6559,6558,4142,3607,3606,4069,4046,4179],"class_list":["post-58171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-gray-catbirds","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-canyon","tag-catbird","tag-catbirds","tag-close-up","tag-dumetella-carolinensis","tag-gray-catbird","tag-mountains","tag-portrait","tag-singing-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/gray-catbird-singing-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0932.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-f8f","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":104614,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/07\/30\/fledgling-gray-catbird-portraits\/","url_meta":{"origin":58171,"position":0},"title":"Fledgling Gray Catbird Portraits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning while photographing a male Yellow Warbler I caught some movement with my peripheral vison and saw a young Gray Catbird very close to me.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fledgling Gray Catbird portrait, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/gray-catbird-juvenile-portrait-mia-mcpherson-8991.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/gray-catbird-juvenile-portrait-mia-mcpherson-8991.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2020","format":false,"excerpt":"On April 2nd in a canyon in some mountains of the West Desert of Utah I heard a familiar call, the mewing call of a Gray Catbird while I was looking for birds to photograph.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Gray Catbird with a berry in its bill, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/gray-catbird-adult-twinberry-mia-mcpherson-8877.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/gray-catbird-adult-twinberry-mia-mcpherson-8877.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/gray-catbird-adult-twinberry-mia-mcpherson-8877.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Gray Catbirds are related to mockingbirds and thrashers and are in the family Mimidae and all of them are noted for their vocalizations and their ability to mimic a wide variety of bird songs and calls and human made sounds.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gray Catbird singing in a stand of willows, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/gray-catbird-singing-mia-mcpherson-4613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/gray-catbird-singing-mia-mcpherson-4613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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