This is my final post in the “Best of 2020” Series I’ve been doing over the past couple of weeks. Shortly I’ll be back to some more recent images. But these three were certainly favorites. The Savannah Sparrow above was one of those moments where I just hoped to get close enough to photograph it while it stayed perched on the lupine. Not only did it stay put, but it also began to sing, so I certainly was fortunate!

In 2019 I was able to photograph quite a few short-eared owls but all perched and usually on a sign post or fence post. 2020 I didn’t see as many shorties but the few I did were always too far away when perched so flight shots were the only options I had. Of course, as this owl circled back with the mountains as the backdrop, it was pretty spectacular!

Swallow migrated through in the spring in large numbers and I found a huge mixed flock of four different swallow species. Different groups would take flight and try to catch insects while others would land and rest. This violet-green swallow was surprisingly cooperative as it allowed me to capture this image. As my wife’s favorite of my images this year, this one is now printed in metal and hanging in our house! Thanks for coming along as I post my best moments in an otherwise challenging year.