Western Kingbird
We came to see family a few hours away from home for the weekend. It had been too long and we had a good time catching up and talking about the baby. :) I went out for a little while in the yard to see who I could find. A Western Kingbird pair were flying nonchalantly from tree to tree, chatting at each other. This one stayed close a little longer than the other.
Isn't it a beautiful bird? I love the dark eye-stripe and the fade from a blueish grey into yellow on the body. This species is in the flycatcher family, and as the name suggests, these birds mainly feed on insects. They can be seen catching them right out of the air.
There are other bird species that look very similar to this one so be sure to check their range maps to help get a positive ID one if you see one like it.
I'm going to make a bird ID guide post in the next few weeks as well as a long overdue SteemitWorldmap guide.
| Location | Delta, Utah |
|---|---|
| Camera | Canon EOS 7D Mark II |
| Lens | 18 - 135mm |
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Very pretty bird, good catch. I've been trying to get pictures of birds lately, but it ain't easy. Yesterday, I saw the shadow of a bird flying on the ground in front of me, so I looked up and a dove was hauling ass away from me with it's wings pitched back at a sharp angle. So, with doves, I guess I'm in the habit of looking for it's companion, and I kept my eyes up. What was behind the dove was a much larger peregrine falcon, wings back and closing in. They were both moving so fast and were quickly gone from view. Too fast for my camera - but it would have been cool.
Oh, and, you took this in Delta? My mom's family are from Hinckley. :-))
It really isn't easy to get photos of birds, especially good ones. That's an amazing sight to witness!! I haven't seen a peregrine yet, though I hear there's a pair that nest downtown. I'll have to check it out sometime and see if I can get some photos. Are you on discord? KatySavage#4837
Yes...kinda. DennisAuburn4219. SoCalSteem. Honestly, I'm not sure how it works. I'll ask Marianne - when I get home. I'm in Provo now. My son graduates from UVU this Friday, so I'm seeing kids and vacationing. If I see any cool birds, I'll give you a note. I saw a robin this afternoon. We get very few in San Diego. Cheers! :-))
Nice shot. I've never seen a Western Kingbird but he's a beauty. I wonder if they even come up the far north? Thanks for sharing.
I've seen them a few times in Utah but they were much harder to photograph through my binoculars. Here is the ebird sightings map. https://ebird.org/map/weskin?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=false&gp=false&ev=Z&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=all&byr=1900&eyr=2018
Thanks for the link!
No problem.