{"id":58627,"date":"2019-06-18T05:01:43","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T11:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=58627"},"modified":"2026-05-09T14:47:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T19:47:41","slug":"high-uinta-warbling-vireo-so-close-i-couldnt-photograph-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/06\/18\/high-uinta-warbling-vireo-so-close-i-couldnt-photograph-it\/","title":{"rendered":"High Uinta Western Warbling-Vireo So Close I Couldn’t Photograph It"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"InquisitiveInquisitive looking Western Warbling-Vireo \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It almost doesn’t need saying that being a bird photographer isn’t easy and that it can be frustrating at times but I am saying it again.<\/p>\n

Last week I drove up into the High Uinta Mountains by way of the open sections of Mirror Lake Highway because I hadn’t been up there yet this year and because I wanted to check out the bird activity.<\/p>\n

Normally by now the highway is open all the way to Evanston, Wyoming but because of heavy snow this year parts of it are still closed.<\/p>\n

I checked out some of the areas I have known to be birdy in the past and photographed some Pine Siskins and a close flycatcher that I have yet to identify but my real bird photography frustration came as I checked out some of the dirt side roads off of the main paved road.<\/p>\n

I’d pulled off onto a narrow dirt road lined on one side by small aspens and a few conifers that had a disperse campsite on the other side and I could hear birds in the wooded side which was to my delight the side of my Jeep that I could photograph from easily.<\/p>\n

Or so I thought.<\/p>\n

I spotted a Western Warbling-Vireo moving around in the small aspens, shut off the engine and hoped I could get photos of the singing vireo but to my dismay the vireo moved in so close to me that I couldn’t use my D500 with the 500mm lens attached.<\/p>\n

The vireo was so close I could not focus on the bird because of the minimum focusing distance limit of my lens. I had my D810 out with a 18 to 200mm lens attached but I couldn’t even use that because of the angle of my Jeep in the narrow dirt road plus the vireo had moved so I could only see it through my windshield.<\/p>\n

I had zero room left on road to maneuver into a position where I could actually photograph the Western Warbling-Vireo. The vireo was so close that if I could have stepped out of my Jeep that in two steps I could have touched it while it sang.<\/p>\n

It was frustrating to me because I only have a few images of Western Warbling-Vireo in my portfolio and I wanted so badly to add photos of the one I saw so close to me.<\/p>\n

I had this gorgeous Western Warbling-Vireo up close singing its tiny heart out and I couldn’t photograph it so I sat and watched it sing<\/span><\/a> and move around in the aspens. I have no photos of it that I can share but I do have the memory of it that I can.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good even with frustrations.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

The Western Warbling-Vireo in the photo above was taken last September in the Wasatch Mountains.<\/p>\n

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

I had this gorgeous Warbling Vireo up close singing its tiny heart out and I couldn’t photograph it so I sat and watched it sing and move around in the aspens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,4594,26,6709],"tags":[4004,5477,4897,3940,6531,5436,4069,6532,6716,6711,6717,16661],"class_list":["post-58627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-morgan-county","category-utah","category-warbling-vireos","tag-adult","tag-autumn-colors","tag-branch","tag-canyon","tag-chokecherry","tag-fall-colors","tag-mountains","tag-prunus-virginiana","tag-vireo","tag-vireo-swainsoni","tag-vireos","tag-western-warbling-vireo"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/warbling-vireo-autumn-vertical-mia-mcpherson-2728.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ffB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":105123,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/18\/warbling-vireo-and-ripe-chokecherries\/","url_meta":{"origin":58627,"position":0},"title":"Western Warbling-Vireo And Ripe Chokecherries","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the birds that I photographed in Morgan County two days ago was this lovely Western Warbling-Vireo perched alongside of ripe chokecherries. 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":"Western 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":152261,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/08\/15\/warbling-vireo-split-eastern-and-western-warbling-vireos\/","url_meta":{"origin":58627,"position":1},"title":"Warbling 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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/warbling-vireo-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-1300.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/warbling-vireo-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-1300.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115342,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/22\/warbling-vireo-in-a-willow\/","url_meta":{"origin":58627,"position":2},"title":"Western Warbling-Vireo In A Willow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week, I was glad to have this Western Warbling-Vireo in my viewfinder when I was high up in the Wasatch Mountains with my dear friend, April Olson.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Western Warbling-Vireo in a willow, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/warbling-vireo-willow-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7612.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/warbling-vireo-willow-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7612.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/warbling-vireo-willow-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7612.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/warbling-vireo-willow-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7612.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":58627,"position":3},"title":"Western Warbling-Vireo With Autumn Colors In Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I looked up and spotted a Western Warbling-Vireo not only out in the open plus it had gorgeous fall colors in the background. I locked focus onto the vireo and started taking images in a long burst!","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Warbling-Vireo perched on a Chokecherry branch, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/warbling-vireo-fall-colors-mia-mcpherson-2687.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-fall-colors-mia-mcpherson-2687.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/warbling-vireo-fall-colors-mia-mcpherson-2687.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/warbling-vireo-fall-colors-mia-mcpherson-2687.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":73979,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/09\/22\/warbling-vireo-and-fall-colors-in-the-stansbury-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":58627,"position":4},"title":"Western Warbling-Vireo And Fall Colors In The Stansbury Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"When this Western Warbling-Vireo popped into my view I knew if I wanted to photograph it I had to hurry because these small vireos move fast.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Warbling-Vireo and fall colors, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warbling-vireo-fall-colors-mia-mcpherson-1384.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warbling-vireo-fall-colors-mia-mcpherson-1384.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warbling-vireo-fall-colors-mia-mcpherson-1384.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/warbling-vireo-fall-colors-mia-mcpherson-1384.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53535,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/08\/12\/warbling-vireo-in-a-wasatch-mountain-canyon\/","url_meta":{"origin":58627,"position":5},"title":"Western Warbling-Vireo In A Wasatch Mountain Canyon","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"My chances of getting the Western Warbling-Vireo photos I have dreamed of were awful but I went up into the canyon anyway.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Warbling-Vireo in a mountain canyon, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/warbling-vireo-mia-mcpherson-2713.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-mia-mcpherson-2713.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/warbling-vireo-mia-mcpherson-2713.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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