Birds Spoke To Me Today And I Understood

Being able to understand how different species of birds communicate proved very helpful during my lunch break this afternoon when I met up with my good friend Rich Young at Creekside Park in Holladay, Utah. Rich has taught me much of what I know about digital photography so I enjoy hooking up with him in the field to practice and learn more about photography while sharing with him what I know about birds. We had overcast skies so we were going to be challenged with capturing nice images.

We met at Creekside Park because it would be a new location for me and Rich had recently photographed Evening Grosbeaks, intergrade Northern Flickers, and Bohemian Waxwings in the park. Grosbeaks aren't necessarily rare in the valleys of northern Utah during the winter, but I was hoping to add some nice images to my web albums. Intergrade Northern Flickers (crosses between Red and Yellow-shafted) are being reported a little more frequently in Utah in recent years because local birders have become more discerning as they observe flickers. Bohemian Waxwing sightings vary from year to year in northern Utah. I have yet to see one since I started birding a few years ago.

Brown Creeper (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Rich and I saw some typical birds as we began, but we did not see our target birds. We eventually saw a small flock of Evening Grosbeaks fly high above us, but we soon lost sight of them. We decided to walk in one direction when I began to hear the faint calls of Evening Grosbeaks. Being able to hear and recognize theirs voices pulled me in a new direction. I soon located them feeding in some Russian Olive Trees, but they quickly flew across a creek and out of sight. We made our way down the creek to a bridge so we could get to the other side. 

After crossing the bridge and walking along a thickly wooded area I heard the faint and high-pitched call of elusive Brown Creepers. I asked Rich if he'd ever seen Brown Creepers and was delighted to locate them after he informed me he had never seen one. Moments later we had a couple of them in our sights.

As we both were capturing images of the Brown Creepers I heard a Black-capped Chickadee giving a scolding call. When another Chickadee joined in on the scolding I knew we were about to discover the hiding spot of what the Chickadees would consider a predator, most likely an owl. The question then became, "Which owl would it be?" I moved toward the commotion and saw several Chickadees scolding in high gear while bouncing from branch to branch around a clump of branches. I told Rich that the Chickadees have better vision than mine. It took a few minutes before I was able to discover a Western Screech Owl.

The owl was on the backside of the branches from our direction. The first image below is what we saw when we first discovered the owl being mobbed by Chickadees. The other images were taken as we move around to the other side of the trees.

Western Screech Owl in Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Western Screech Owl in Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Western Screech Owl in Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Western Screech Owl in Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

We left the owl alone after a few minutes and continued moving toward the sound of the Evening Grosbeaks. Rich discovered the Grosbeaks feeding in a Russian Olive Tree and we began capturing images of males and females as they devoured the fruit of the tree. The overcast skies diffused the light and resulted in softer yet interesting images.

Male Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Female Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Male Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Female Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Male Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Male Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Male Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Female Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Female Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Male Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Female Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Male Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Female Evening Grosbeak at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

At the end of our adventure we heard then saw several Downy Woodpeckers fly in to trees near the Grosbeaks. The image below was a tight squeeze to focus on the bill of a female Downy as she was foraging below some Grosbeaks.

Female Downy Woodpecker Chipping Bark to Discover Food at Creekside Park in Holladay, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)