Yellow Warbler Fledglings Everywhere

Begging Yellow Warbler chick in an elderberry bush – Nikon D500, f9, 1/800, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I saw and heard a lot of young birds yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains. One of the fledgling birds I found was a Yellow Warbler chick perched on a Blue Elderberry branch out in the open. There were several Yellow Warbler fledglings in this shrub and the adults were running themselves ragged trying to keep them all fed.

Yellow Warbler fledgling in a Blue Elderberry bush – Nikon D500, f9, 1/1000, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

All of the Yellow Warbler chicks were very mobile within the shrub and as they chased the adults around in the nearby willows, grasses and sage. I honestly am not sure how the adults warblers keep up with all if their young once they leave the safety and confines of their nest. As hard as I tried to keep up with the chicks so I could photograph them all I failed often. They move so fast.

Yellow Warbler chicks go through a phase where they look a little patchy, those patches are primarily gray and yellow feathers. Their natal down feathers are a mousy gray which are replaced not long after they leave the nest with the lemony yellow feathers.

Fledgling Yellow Warbler waiting to be fed – Nikon D500, f9, 1/1000, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I think they are the cutest when they are this patchy looking but that patchiness does make it hard for me to point out these chicks to other people when they aren’t perched out in the open because they can blend right into their surroundings. More on that another day.

Life is good. Stay safe.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Yellow Warbler photos plus facts and information about this species.