I had seen this Palm Warbler skittering ahead of me down the trail and given up hope of photographing it in the thick underbrush. Then he landed in this dead tree.

He looked around…

Staying put for about 3 seconds in the spread leg position…

Then he was off…

The last I saw of him before he flew back into the undergrowth.

ID by Cornell Lab’s Merlin App

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
September 16, 2022