![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/western-bluebird-6947-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"western-bluebird-6947-ron-dudley\\"")
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1\/2000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n But two years ago today I photographed this male on the eastern slope of the Stansbury Mountains. He was among a small flock of other bluebirds, including at least one female, that\u00a0was flitting along a rustic old\u00a0fence line. When I first saw the blue at a distance\u00a0I assumed they were the much more common\u00a0Mountain Bluebirds but even at that\u00a0distance\u00a0it didn’t take long to notice the reddish breast that helps to distinguish the two species.<\/p>\n In Utah this species is listed as “sensitive” (declining population due to limited range or habitat) so photographing this bird was a huge treat for me. They’re slightly more common in southern Utah than they are up here in the north but until this experience\u00a0I’d never seen one in the entire state.<\/p>\n To be honest I’d mostly forgotten about this sighting until last night when I was scrolling through my archives and came across my photos of him and seeing them\u00a0raised my spirits a little. Birds have been extremely slow around here for months now but this was a reminder that spring is right around the corner and we never really know what pleasant surprises we’ll find out there if we just keep looking.<\/p>\n As I often say, “You never know unless you go”.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Note: There has been some discussion on Facebook about the possibility that this\u00a0is an Eastern Bluebird instead of a Western. I was a little surprised its belly wasn’t more blue but it doesn’t have the orange-red throat or the bright white belly and undertail coverts of the Eastern and it would be way out of its range for an Eastern. I’m no expert but at this point I’m quite confident it’s a Western Bluebird.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I don’t remember seeing a Western Bluebird since I was a kid in Montana 60+ years ago.<\/p>\n