Bluebirds

I have a new photo book coming out on birds of the Western United States. So I thought I'd preview some of those photos on our blog.

First up, Bluebirds:

Mountain Bluebird Male

Mountain Bluebird Female

 Western Bluebird Male

 Western Bluebird Male

 Western Bluebird Chicks

 Western Bluebird Female

Birding Mount Lemmon: Part II Others

Some other photos from my morning on Incinerator Ridge on Mount Lemmon:

Mountain Chickadee

Acorn Woodpecker

Hermit Thrush

Pygmy Nuthatch

Mountain Bluebird

It wasn't only birds though:

Ivyleaf Morningglory

White Tailed Deer

Birds on a Wire: Mountain Bluebird

Next in the series of Birds on a Wire we come to the Mountain Bluebird. 

Mountain Bluebirds are fairly common in the Western United States. They can be found year round in Northern Arizona, with occasional winter sightings in Southern Arizona. Their preferred habits are prairies and sagebrush, as well as alpine tundra. They like wide open spaces where they hunt insects from perches. Thus wire provide the perfect "perch."

Mountain Bluebird

Animal Signs: Mountain Bluebird

Here are a couple of photos of Mountain Bluebirds perched on signs:

Mountain Bluebird on Road Sign

Mountain Bluebird near Trail 

Mountain Bluebird II

So there I was driving on a back road south of Williams, Arizona looking for Pronghorn. As I was passing a ranch there was this Mountain Bluebird sitting on a post; never moved. I stopped, rolled down the passenger side window, and took this photo. Not bad, huh? I love the muted background that makes the Bluebird stand out.

Mountain Bluebird

From Moose to Mountain Bluebirds

From Moose to Mountain Bluebirds. Continuing with my alphabetical series on my "5" Star Photos we leave Moose and come to Mountain Bluebirds. I found this little guy in the Galiuro Mountains in Southern Arizona. 

Mountain Bluebird

Winding down from the Colorado trip, there were a few other photos I wanted to share with you. The first comes from Mount Evans. Once you get past the timberline, the first animal you notice is the Hoary Marmot. While there aren't "herds" of them you see one every couple hundred yards or so, darting in and out of rocks, sometimes posing for a photo:

The next photo is from Colorado State Forest. This Mule Deer was along one of the forest roads. I loved the wildflowers, puff ball, and aspens. It made for a truly lovely photo:

There was also a bird or two I noticed. Even though my primary focus this trip was the large mammals, when a beautiful little patch of blue flies by and lands on a post 20 yards from you ... and, your camera is sitting right next to you ... its hard to pass up:

Mountain Bluebird

Tomorrow, the final photos.

Indian Canyon, California

Indian Canyon is on the outskirts of Palm Springs (California). Or, is Palm Springs on the outskirts of Indian Canyon? Indian Canyon including Tahquitz Canyon is land owned by the Agua Caliente Band of  the Cahuilla Indians. The canyons are in the San Jacinto Mountains.  A Ranger told me that there are around 700 Bighorn Sheep in the San Jacintos. Problem: very little access. So, very seldom seen. Next trip I am going to head up the Colorado River toward Las Vegas in hopes of finding them. But, for now, it's Indian Canyon. I woke up as I usually do in order to get where I want to be by dawn. However, as I approached Indian Canyon there was a gate and a sign with hours 8:00 AM to whatever. So, I am sitting in my Jeep trying to decide on an alternative strategy, when I notice a flock of Western Bluebirds eating berries from the palm tree right next to me. Long story short, I was there for over an hour photographing a wide variety of birds such as the male western bluebird, female western bluebird, and mountain bluebird above.