A White-eyed Vireo on a quick stop to somewhere else.
White-eyed Vireo
Tag Archives: Song Birds
Prothonotary Warbler, Singing
A mighty song!
Yellow-throated Warbler, Bringing Home the Lunch
This fellow landed right in front of me, showing off his snacks, before he zipped off to deliver lunch.
Eastern Bluebird
An Eastern Bluebird flew from the ground to an open branch as I passed by.
Carolina Chickadee
A Carolina Chickadee was picking on the new buds of a Sweetgum tree with two of last years pods still hanging on.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Taking time out for an itch a Yellow-rumped Warbler appeared to give me a wave.
Realizing he was noticed he hopped down the branch…
before flitting a bit further off the path.
Yellow-rumped Warblers Everywhere
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.
Tucked in a Hummock
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!
Yellow-rumped Warbler On The Hunt
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.
Carolina Chickadee on Sweet Gum Ball, 2
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!
