Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

I am learning how to find and photograph small birds. It has been very difficult for me. They are hard to see, they tend to be very quick, they are obscured by branches and leaves and their smaller size, along with those other factors, makes them hard to photograph. 

The blue-gray gnatcatcher is one of those kinds of birds. Males have blue-gray upperparts, white underparts, a slender dark bill, a long black tail edged in white and a white eye ring. Females are less blue. 

The first ones I photographed were at the IRWD (Irvine Water District) San Joaquin Marsh in Irvine, California on January 17, 2022. The first two photos are one bird and the third photo is a different bird. 

This could have been a decent photo, but the auto focus snagged the branch to the left which was closer to me, one of the hazards of photographing small birds. 

My best photos, taken at IRWD a year later, on January 7, 2023 - this and the following two photos. 

My last photo, taken on June 18, 2025, was taken near the Chilao Visitor Center in the San Gabriel Mountains above Los Angeles on June 18, 2025. 

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World. I don't see any clear lines above the bill and eyes in my photos, but the first photos are pretty dark blue, so the first photos must be male and the others are females. 

Range from Birds of the World.