Mountain Bluebird – Blue On Black
I occasionally use Saturday morning’s post as a testing ground for images that I like personally but are just a little bit different from my usual fare. This is one of those images.
Tag: mountain bluebird
Mountain Bluebird On A Natural Perch (Finally)
I have many nice images of Mountain Bluebirds but almost without exception they’re all on unnatural perches such as fence posts, wires or nest boxes. This one chose a perch that I like better.
Plumage Development Stages Of Male Mountain Bluebirds
While photographing a juvenile male Mountain Bluebird in Montana last week I was struck by the interesting variation in color and patterns of the adult male in breeding plumage as compared to those of the juvenile male. I thought some viewers might be interested in a photographic comparison of some of their development stages.
Juvenile Mountain Bluebird
I often photograph Mountain Bluebirds on my Montana trips but I’ve seldom had the opportunity to work with juveniles. That changed last week when we found a young bird hunting from a fence in early morning light.
Dancing Bluebird
From the moment this flashy male Mountain Bluebird landed on a weathered and sun-bleached Montana fencepost he seemed hyped-up and twitchy.
Mountain Bluebirds Attending To Nesting Duties
On my recent Montana camping trip I was pleased to note that the good folks of Big Sky Country care deeply about their bluebirds. Nest boxes of every description and age seem to be abundant on both private and public land and along road corridors. Nesting season was in full swing, as were the traditional spats between Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows for nesting rights to the boxes.
On these trips I can never resist photographing the bluebirds in particular as they perform their domestic duties.
Birds From Our Recent Trip To Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
I spent most of last week at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Montana. Regular readers of this blog know that it’s’ one of my favorite places on earth. On this trip we didn’t have as much luck with raptors as we usually do at Red Rock but we still had a nice variety of birds, mostly good weather and we experienced some breathtaking scenery and blessed solitude. Overall, a wonderful experience. 1/3200, f.6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Mountain Bluebirds are common this time of year so I’ll begin with a few of them. The blues of the males are very intense and hard for the photographer to resist. It’s difficult to catch them on a natural perch but most of the fence posts in the area are old and rustic which I like. 1/2000, f.7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I’m pretty sure this male was attempting to expel a pellet (rather than yawning) although it didn’t succeed before it flew off. 1/3200, f.7.1, ISO 800, 500 f/4 The female Mountain Bluebirds have less dramatic colors and their beauty is more subtle. I caught this one hovering in front of her nest. It’s been a traumatic spring for these bluebirds. On Memorial Day a big storm dumped 15″ of snow resulting in an 85% mortality of bluebird chicks at the refuge. They’re now trying again and have renested. 1/1600, f.6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Another male in the middle of a shake. I just liked the ruffled feathers combined…
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Mountain Bluebird On A Natural Perch (Finally)
I have many nice images of Mountain Bluebirds but almost without exception they’re all on unnatural perches such as fence posts, wires or nest boxes. This one chose a perch that I like better.
Plumage Development Stages Of Male Mountain Bluebirds
While photographing a juvenile male Mountain Bluebird in Montana last week I was struck by the interesting variation in color and patterns of the adult male in breeding plumage as compared to those of the juvenile male. I thought some viewers might be interested in a photographic comparison of some of their development stages.
Juvenile Mountain Bluebird
I often photograph Mountain Bluebirds on my Montana trips but I’ve seldom had the opportunity to work with juveniles. That changed last week when we found a young bird hunting from a fence in early morning light.
Dancing Bluebird
From the moment this flashy male Mountain Bluebird landed on a weathered and sun-bleached Montana fencepost he seemed hyped-up and twitchy.
Mountain Bluebirds Attending To Nesting Duties
On my recent Montana camping trip I was pleased to note that the good folks of Big Sky Country care deeply about their bluebirds. Nest boxes of every description and age seem to be abundant on both private and public land and along road corridors. Nesting season was in full swing, as were the traditional spats between Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows for nesting rights to the boxes.
On these trips I can never resist photographing the bluebirds in particular as they perform their domestic duties.
Birds From Our Recent Trip To Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
I spent most of last week at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Montana. Regular readers of this blog know that it’s’ one of my favorite places on earth. On this trip we didn’t have as much luck with raptors as we usually do at Red Rock but we still had a nice variety of birds, mostly good weather and we experienced some breathtaking scenery and blessed solitude. Overall, a wonderful experience. 1/3200, f.6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Mountain Bluebirds are common this time of year so I’ll begin with a few of them. The blues of the males are very intense and hard for the photographer to resist. It’s difficult to catch them on a natural perch but most of the fence posts in the area are old and rustic which I like. 1/2000, f.7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I’m pretty sure this male was attempting to expel a pellet (rather than yawning) although it didn’t succeed before it flew off. 1/3200, f.7.1, ISO 800, 500 f/4 The female Mountain Bluebirds have less dramatic colors and their beauty is more subtle. I caught this one hovering in front of her nest. It’s been a traumatic spring for these bluebirds. On Memorial Day a big storm dumped 15″ of snow resulting in an 85% mortality of bluebird chicks at the refuge. They’re now trying again and have renested. 1/1600, f.6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Another male in the middle of a shake. I just liked the ruffled feathers combined…