Male Yellow Warbler tucked into some willows – Nikon D500, f9, 1/400, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Three days ago I was able to take my first of season Yellow Warbler photos when a male came up close to where I sat in my Jeep in a high mountain canyon. Not one of the images I took of him were picture perfect. I had out of focus branches crossing over the right foot and lower body of the bird, the setting was busy and there were shadows on the head and the body of the warbler but I was happy to have one of these woodland birds in my viewfinder again at a reasonable distance. It felt to me as if it had been a year since that had happened last although it has only been since last fall.
I sat and watched the male Yellow Warblers constantly chasing each other around in the willows and marveled at how they were able to zip though the abundant branches without crashing into them. They were always on the move and a few times they came close enough to me sitting in my vehicle that I thought they might fly through my open window.
I also noticed that all of the Yellow Warblers I saw were males and wondered if they arrive on their breeding grounds first or if I was simply more focused on the males because they are an eye-catching, vivid yellow and the females are duller in color and are thus less noticeable.
The songs of the male Yellow Warblers seemed to be everywhere I went in the canyon and it delighted me to hear them.
The males seemed to be in hyper-drive because they only landed on the branches for a few seconds before other males chased them off. I’m certain that has to do with establishing their territories but it sure made it hard on me to get photos of them. Hopefully by the time I venture up into the mountains again they will have settled down a little bit. Even if they haven’t I will still be glad to see and hear them. It really doesn’t take much for me to feel happy.
Life is good. Stay safe.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Yellow Warbler photos plus facts and information about this species.
As Liz stated, I see flashes of yellow more than anything sitting still. So, congratulations on your first siting of the season!
Delightful! A bright ball of sunshine accompanied by beautiful music. 🙂
Simply glorious – and I would be sorry for anyone who wasn’t made happy to see/hear these charmers.
Beautiful photo. I have very few photos of any warblers, they are swift and usually hidden in foliage.
Gorgeous photo! I saw flashes of yellow earlier in the week but with temps of low 30’s in the Niagara area the last couple of days, I’m no longer seeing those flashes of yellow.