{"id":59574,"date":"2019-08-17T06:45:04","date_gmt":"2019-08-17T12:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=59574"},"modified":"2025-09-09T05:41:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T10:41:49","slug":"pre-migration-lazuli-buntings-fattening-up-on-fruit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/08\/17\/pre-migration-lazuli-buntings-fattening-up-on-fruit\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-migration Lazuli Buntings Fattening Up On Fruit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ImmatureImmature Lazuli Bunting perched in a serviceberry bush \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

One year ago today I was up in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> photographing pre-migration Lazuli Buntings fattening on the fruits of serviceberries and most of them were either immature or female buntings.<\/p>\n

I had pulled over to the side of the road after seeing lots of bird activity at a serviceberry bush and waited around until they got used to seeing my Jeep and then the birds readily came back in to feed. I didn’t mind the wait at all since I had such wonderful views and I could hear bird song all around me. Better that than the noise of civilization.<\/p>\n

This immature Lazuli came out into the open and looked around long enough for me to take a nice series of images of it and its juice stained bill.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Lazuli Bunting foraging in a serviceberry \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

And when this adult female showed up and landed on a branch with the ripe fruits of the serviceberry I had to take photos of her.<\/p>\n

This year the serviceberries are a little bit behind where they were last year and the fruits aren’t nearly as ripe as what is shown in this photo in many of the places I go to to find these birds, even the chokecherries are a bit behind too.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Lazuli Bunting checking me out \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I enjoyed being able to photograph the immature buntings foraging on their own and was pleased that they came out into the open more often than the adults did that day. This one sure seemed to be checking me and my lens out.<\/p>\n

I hope that in the next few days I’ll be able to go up into the mountains, find a serviceberry that draws the buntings in to sit, relax and photograph them until I get my fill because they will soon be on their way south.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

One year ago today I was up in the Wasatch Mountains photographing pre-migration Lazuli Buntings fattening on the fruits of serviceberries and most of them were either immature or female buntings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":154983,"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":[27,380,4594,26,773],"tags":[6523,6530,5817,3940,4070,6667,4067,1828,4270,7561,7283,7289,6698,6522],"class_list":["post-59574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-lazuli-buntings","category-morgan-county","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-amelanchier-utahensis","tag-bunting","tag-buntings","tag-canyon","tag-female","tag-fruit","tag-immature","tag-lazuli-bunting","tag-passerina-amoena","tag-pre-migration","tag-ripe","tag-serviceberries","tag-serviceberry","tag-utah-serviceberry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-female-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6291.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-fuS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":93903,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/08\/23\/immature-lazuli-bunting-look-for-the-gape\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":0},"title":"Immature Lazuli Bunting – Look For The Gape","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"When I photographed this immature Lazuli Bunting three years ago today these images were eclipsed by me finding a rare Baltimore Oriole in the same area of the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Lazuli Bunting perched in a serviceberry - Inset showing the fleshy gape, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/lazuli-bunting-immature-gape-mia-mcpherson-inset-7588.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/lazuli-bunting-immature-gape-mia-mcpherson-inset-7588.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/lazuli-bunting-immature-gape-mia-mcpherson-inset-7588.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/lazuli-bunting-immature-gape-mia-mcpherson-inset-7588.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53812,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/08\/26\/lazuli-buntings-in-serviceberry-trees-fattening-up-before-migration\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":1},"title":"Lazuli Buntings In Serviceberry Trees – Fattening Up Before Migration","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the past couple of weeks I have been able to photograph male, female and immature Lazuli Buntings as they have been gorging on the fruits of Serviceberry trees to fatten up before their migration.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult male Lazuli Bunting in a Serviceberry, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-male-mia-mcpherson-8013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-male-mia-mcpherson-8013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-male-mia-mcpherson-8013.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-male-mia-mcpherson-8013.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115106,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/11\/immature-lazuli-bunting-and-ripe-serviceberries\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":2},"title":"Immature Lazuli Bunting And Ripe Serviceberries","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"While up in the high country of the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning, I was delighted to photograph this immature Lazuli Bunting with ripe serviceberries.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Lazuli Bunting with ripe serviceberries, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberries-mia-mcpherson-7396.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberries-mia-mcpherson-7396.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberries-mia-mcpherson-7396.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberries-mia-mcpherson-7396.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":104434,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/07\/21\/young-lazuli-bunting-in-a-serviceberry\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":3},"title":"Young Lazuli Bunting In A Serviceberry","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I escaped into the coolness of the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning for a few hours. While I was there I photographed this young Lazuli Bunting.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lazuli Bunting juvenile in a serviceberry, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6695.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6695.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/lazuli-bunting-immature-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-6695.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-juvenile-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-5990.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-juvenile-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-5990.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-juvenile-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-5990.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lazuli-bunting-juvenile-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-5990.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58447,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/06\/09\/flowering-serviceberries-more-blooming-bird-food\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":5},"title":"Flowering Serviceberries – More Blooming Bird Food","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Like the chokecherries I wrote about yesterday it seems that because of our wetter than normal spring the serviceberries are also doing very well so there should be plentiful fruit for the birds to feast on before they migrate this fall.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blooming Serviceberry in June, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/serviceberry-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-7912.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/serviceberry-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-7912.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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