Lesser Goldfinch - Western Birds

6/14/2011

The first time I saw a Lesser Goldfinch was several years ago while visiting my brother in Tucson, AZ.  They are not as brilliant as their relative the American Goldfinch, but they still have a pretty look with their yellow throat and underparts contrasted by their dark wings, back and black cap. The main difference between the Lesser and the American Goldfinches are their backs. The American Goldfinch has a yellow back while the Lesser's is grayish/olive. When the Lesser Goldfinch (Above) landed literally next to me in Crystal Cove State Park, it stayed put and allowed me to get several pics. 

Escalante, UT; 6/15/2011.

Lesser Goldfinches are found mostly in the southwest, but range from as far north as Oregon to the southern tip of Texas and into Mexico.

Sunset of the Day

I have always liked the texture quality of this sunset photo - it reminds me of a painting, Dana Point Harbor, CA; 8/13/2007.



Scrub Jay

Another Western bird form the Jay family is the Scrub Jay. They are more common along the Pacific Coasts of California and Oregon, and are less common inland; however, all of the photos I have of Scrub Jays are from inland habitats. I saw a few of them in my latest trip to Colorado, but did not get any photos. The photo (Below top, 6-9-09) of the Scrub Jay was taken at Grosvner Arch near Escalante, UT.  We had driven for over an hour on Cottonwood Canyon Road (Below middle, 6-9-09), a windy, dusty dirt road, to get to this back country park, but was well worth the time and dust for both the scenery (Below bottom, Grosvner Arch, 6-9-09) and the Scrub Jay.

Scrub Jay on the outhose roof at Grosvner Arch Picnic Area

My trusty Subaru Forester on Cottonwood Canyon Road

Grosvner Arch - sandstone Arch

Another photo of a Scrub Jay (Below, 12-29-05), I took while we were hiking the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon, AZ. At the time I took the pic I thought I had taken a picture of a Western Bluebird, but I have since become a learned man.