This winter I have seen Yellow-rumped Warblers at all my birding spots.
Sunday was no different when they were zipping all over Magnolia Cemetery.
This fellow gave me quite a few poses.
The decaying plot fences around the cemetery are common perching spots, if only for a moment.
The tangled shrubs that hang over the pond were the favorite spot that afternoon, perhaps because there was ample sun to warm the birds up.
The big pond at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area is dotted with these little islands covered with clumps of marsh grasses. Maybe not quite technically hummocks, as I’m not sure the ground is in a mound or if the grass is just thriving in a clump.
It’s not uncommon to see Black-crowned Night-herons tucked into the grass, but on this cold day they were joined by a Great Egret and a Double-crested Cormorant was bobbing in the water. I couple other Night Herons came and went while I was watching.
Look closely and those little blurs are Swallows zipping through the air. By 11:30 AM it had warmed up enough for insects to be active at the water surface.
These Swallows are fast!
A very busy Yellow-rumped Warbler was zipping back and forth over the edge of a small pond.
He found small twigs to perch on between forays.
And then totally surprised me by landing in the water, which is much deeper than just to his ankles.
The carpet of vegetation, or perhaps a stick under the surface, was enough to hold up his 0.4-0.5 ounce (12-13 g) body while he poked in the water.
He got his treasure and skedaddled showing off his name-sake rump.
Feeding on Sweet Gum seeds is a lot of work!
A lot of probing goes on and you can see some debris falling at the bottom of this next image.
The Chickadee’s foot grasps the ball between the spikes.
Check out the reward!
A perky Carolina Wren entertained me while he hunted for bugs on a vine covered tree trunk.
The vine and some Spanish Moss are good hiding places for bugs.
An occasional stop for a song is the wren’s way.
I think I was spotted.
Back to business the wren moved on up the trunk.
I spotted this Eastern Phoebe from a distance, his whitish chest shining like a beacon in all this dried winter brown. I was pleased he stayed put until I got a bit closer.
After a bit he entertained me with some flutter dives as he hunted, then he landed in this nearby dried stalk.
This Yellow-rumped Warbler flew into a tree right in front of me.
I think we were both surprised!
I had a narrow gap view of this Eastern Phoebe perched on a cattail at the edge of a small pond.
I waited for a clear shot as the tall grasses and hanging Spanish Moss waved around in a slight breeze.
The breeze was agitating the water, too, giving interesting ripple patterns in the background.
White-eyed Vireos are a fast, elusive song bird.
This one was intent on food. He picked a worm off a leaf and flew down to an open branch to eat it.
But first he beat it a few times.
I’ve seen song birds gather a stack of worms or insects in their beak and thought he might be rendering this one ready for a flight to a nest.
No, this one was for him.
One gulp and it was gone.
The nest of this White-eyed Vireo is quite intricate and well placed to protect it from the rain.
A sharp-eyed friend had spotted the nest being constructed and pointed it out to me as we passed by.
