Everybody has birds they ignore.  Whether they're endemic to your area, or migratory birds that we tend to forget as they come and go about their birdie business.  You may see them, but it's just not that important as you drink your morning coffee.  And last week it was pointed out to me that I didn't have a photograph of a bird species that nests here in the Wind River Canyon every year....over coffee, of course.  

     Every Spring, here in the canyon, a bird arrives from Colorado that has red eyes!  They're very distinctive in that regard, and yes, many jokes have been made at their expense.  The Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) is a bird species that's been very successful in the Wind River Canyon.  

     The males arrive early to establish their dominance and territories, with the very similar looking females coming into the canyon several weeks later.  The Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), which is seen east of the Mississippi, looks nearly the same, except the eastern variety females are brown.  The eastern and western species do interbreed in their overlapping territories along rivers and creeks in the Great Plains.  They mostly have red eyes, even if they haven't been to Colorado.

     At this moment we have nearly two dozen young Spotted Towhee. They were born here, maturing and fattening up for their first long trip to their winter home near the border, and south into Mexico.  They are ground birds and uncoordinated on most hanging bird feeders, but some do try, and it's mostly comical watching them attempt to get at the sunflower seeds; cracked corn is also a bird favorite. Spotted Towhee - Wind River CanyonSpotted Towhee photographed in Wind River Canyon, Wyoming.      The only good photograph of a Spotted Towhee I had on digital file had been taken years ago, and that was too old for my Wind River Canyon Blog.  So, I set out to take pictures of our little visitors with newer equipment, and my practiced patience.  As I'd observed over many hours of observation, this rock was a jumping off point.  I sat at a distance of twenty-five feet or so and waited, and waited.  After two hours I finally got the young Towhee I wanted in the viewfinder with the feathers on his head held high.  His eyes are not quite as red as a full adult would be; the color is as dramatic as bird's eyes will ever be in the canyon.  I know his feet look too big....but they're not; he won't be growing into them.  

     The fuzzy tan gradient color at the bottom is a little creativity; it's actually a huge slice of tree that I'm working into a small table.  Because it's closer the depth-of-field means it's out of focus, and an interesting photographic coincidence.  All this observation led to the discovery of Green-tailed Towhee - Wind River CanyonGreen-tailed Towhee photographed in the Wind River Canyon, Wyoming. another species of Towhee that migrates through the Wind River Canyon, but doesn't nest here----the Green-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus).  With little birds migrating through the Wind River Canyon, it's sometimes difficult to identify them before they're gone till next year.  

     The bird with the reddish crown was a Green-tailed Towhee, and I wanted him for this blog; the problem was he only ate breakfast early when the light in this bottom-of-the-freezer was dim.  Lousy lighting means slower shutter speeds, and the Green-tailed Towhee isn't as dominant as the Spotted; they are shy birds.  The one (maybe two) have gone south already and the bird portrait I envisioned will have to wait till next Spring!

     The important lesson in all of this is simple----only observation and time will teach you what you'll need learn about your subject, be it bird, Bighorn Sheep, or that child you have to photograph.  Shut-up and watch your photographic subject, write down the things you learn if you need to.  A little knowledge about the behavior of your interest is the best way of getting a better picture.  Learn something, and you'll be a greater photographer for it.  

     Wind River Canyon Blog written by Michael John Balog - Hogbats Photography - Wind River Canyon, Wyoming.

     Visit HogbatsPhotography.com for many more photographs of the Birds of the Wind River Canyon, including hummingbirds and even a few Bighorn Sheep.

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