{"id":8569,"date":"2013-06-11T03:45:37","date_gmt":"2013-06-11T09:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=8569"},"modified":"2025-02-18T12:33:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T18:33:13","slug":"black-headed-grosbeak-foraging-in-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/11\/black-headed-grosbeak-foraging-in-montana\/","title":{"rendered":"Black-headed Grosbeak foraging in Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-140284 size-full\" title=\"Black-headed Grosbeak foraging\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567.jpg\" alt=\"Black-headed Grosbeak foraging, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567-800x571.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Black-headed Grosbeak foraging &#8211; Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I was thrilled to spot this male Black-headed Grosbeak foraging in this flowering shrub while I was in Montana last week. I haven&#8217;t had many opportunities\u00a0to photograph\u00a0this species so when it popped into view I was elated. Normally I would prefer a less busy foreground and background but this is the perch the bird picked and I think the flowers add interest. Besides, I enjoy photographing birds doing what they do where they decided to do it.<\/p>\n<p>More birds from my Montana trip last week to come&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/black-headed-grosbeak-images\/\">here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Black-headed Grosbeak photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was thrilled to spot this male Black-headed Grosbeak foraging in this flowering shrub while I was in Montana last week. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140284,"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":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,382,12],"tags":[4004,4021,4062,519,4035,1078,343,102,4032],"class_list":["post-8569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-black-headed-grosbeaks","category-montana","tag-adult","tag-bird-photography","tag-male","tag-nature","tag-nature-photography","tag-pheucticus-melanocephalus","tag-photography","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-photography"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-mia-mcpherson-5567.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2ed","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":71540,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/07\/05\/black-headed-grosbeak-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":8569,"position":0},"title":"Black-headed Grosbeak in the Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I was happy that I decided to photograph the striking Black-headed Grosbeak instead of the Downy Woodpecker that was at least forty feet in front of me.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Beaverhead County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female or immature Black-headed Grosbeak in the Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-4594.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-4594.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-4594.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-4594.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1669,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/12\/20\/black-headed-grosbeaks\/","url_meta":{"origin":8569,"position":1},"title":"Black-headed Grosbeaks In Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This male Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) sure caught my eye with its beautiful orange, black and white plumage.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Black-headed Grosbeak perched on a rusty wagon wheel, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-male-rusty-wagon-wheel-mia-mcpherson-montana-6141.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-male-rusty-wagon-wheel-mia-mcpherson-montana-6141.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-male-rusty-wagon-wheel-mia-mcpherson-montana-6141.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-headed-grosbeak-male-rusty-wagon-wheel-mia-mcpherson-montana-6141.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":127971,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/27\/male-rose-breasted-grosbeak-on-migration-through-arkansas\/","url_meta":{"origin":8569,"position":2},"title":"Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak On Migration Through Arkansas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This Rose-breasted Grosbeak that I photographed in Steve Creek's yard, isn't a lifer for me, but these images are the best I have taken so far of this species.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeak on spring migration, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rose-breasted-grosbeak-male-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-1390.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rose-breasted-grosbeak-male-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-1390.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rose-breasted-grosbeak-male-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-1390.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rose-breasted-grosbeak-male-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-1390.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":135190,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/01\/my-first-white-faced-ibis-photos-from-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":8569,"position":3},"title":"My First White-faced Ibis Photos From Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm delighted to be able to share my first White-faced Ibis photos at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma taken yesterday. I really like these birds.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White-faced Ibis with prey at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/white-faced-ibis-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-9641.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/white-faced-ibis-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-9641.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/white-faced-ibis-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-9641.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/white-faced-ibis-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-9641.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":103309,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/06\/15\/bull-moose-high-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":8569,"position":4},"title":"Bull Moose High In The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday while photographing a singing male Black-headed Grosbeak I heard a splash in the creek I was sitting next to and a bull Moose dropped into my view.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Moose&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Moose","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/moose\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Moose bull in the Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/moose-bull-in-velvet-in-willows-mia-mcpherson-8725.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/moose-bull-in-velvet-in-willows-mia-mcpherson-8725.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/moose-bull-in-velvet-in-willows-mia-mcpherson-8725.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/moose-bull-in-velvet-in-willows-mia-mcpherson-8725.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8700,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/25\/wilsons-phalarope-a-whirligig-bird\/","url_meta":{"origin":8569,"position":5},"title":"Wilson&#8217;s Phalarope &#8211; A Whirligig Bird","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In early June while in western Montana there was a pair of Wilson's Phalaropes on a small, privately owned pond near a gravel road foraging for prey that I couldn't resist photographing.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Beaverhead County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Wilson\u2019s Phalarope foraging, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wilsons-phalarope-mia-mcpherson-4190.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wilsons-phalarope-mia-mcpherson-4190.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wilsons-phalarope-mia-mcpherson-4190.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wilsons-phalarope-mia-mcpherson-4190.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}