This small warbler caught my eye as I walked a path through a wooded area. He flitted along ahead of me, in and out of the sun patches, finally pausing in a fairly open spot for a few images.
I had to look him up for ID and found that it is a Northern Parula, which are known for spending their time in the tree canopy, not down close to the ground. When he left this spot he did fly up and I didn’t get another good view of him.
This Common Yellowthroat Warbler was a cheery sight on a recent cool morning.
I had been watching some small birds flit in and out of the underbrush at the side of the road. The sun had just come up and they were hunting for breakfast in the lowest, darkest parts of the vegetation. This Palm Warbler finally took a break in the sun on a reed frond.
I was able to get a few steps closer and get a few images at a different angle before he went back to foraging.
We drive through several miles of forest to get to the big pond at Donnelley Wildlife Management area. The tree canopy filters the light and somehow the little birds that I have a clear view of are seldom in a patch of light. That doesn’t stop me from taking some images and occasionally I get a keeper like this silhouette.
The Prothonotary Warblers won’t be in our area long so I spent some time around the edges of the swamp looking for them earlier this week. They are fast in flight, like tree tops, and don’t stay in one place for long, making them a challenge to track and to photograph.
This one must have liked the sun or the view because he stayed in this lichen covered branch for several minutes.
In the inner branches is usually where that flash of yellow streaks by.
This Yellow-rumped Warbler was showing off how he got his name while enjoying the sun for a few moments.
The Yellow-rumped Warblers are elusive, raise the camera and zip, they are gone. Like most photographers of small birds I have plenty of shots of their “butter butts” disappearing into the underbrush.
On occasion they land in a twig free zone, and may even flip directions in the same spot, providing multiple views.
This one was a little puffed up to meet the cold of the day.
Snow does make a nice frame for a bird image as seen with this Yellow-rumped Warbler and the Bluebird below.
The sun and a little breeze knocked most of the light snow off the branches the day after the storm.
Click on either photo for larger view.
This is another bird that flew in right over my head while I was watching the Great Blue Herons work on their nests. I’m pretty sure it is a Pine Warbler, but there are a number of similar yellow warblers making my ID iffy.
Pine Warbler
He landed on a strand of hanging Spanish Moss and gave it a couple of pokes.
Not finding anything, he flitted a little further from me,
My view wasn’t as good but he treated me to an acrobatic display.
I always have my eye out for the small birds, watching for darting movements through the trees and undergrowth. This summer they were elusive, always hidden by leaves or behind a limb.
Now at the end of September the grasses and brush have started to thin and drop back making a shot more attainable.
This Warbler lit on a beautiful muted scene just as I was glanced that way. His coloration doesn’t quite match the samples on the identification resources.
