Nashville Warbler hanging upside down while foraging – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Last week I shared photos of a Nashville Warbler and I mentioned that I could finally take this species off my nemesis list. I’d taken crappy images of them before that were mostly butt shots, where the birds were mostly hidden by branches or leaves along with unintentionally blurry photos. I’ve found that when I finally get the images of a nemesis species that I actually like I find that getting images of that species isn’t as hard any more and that is what has happened with Nashville Warblers.
I’ve had several more opportunities with Nashville Warblers since August 25th in the Wasatch Mountains and have taken more images of this warbler species that I actually like.
The same day that I photographed the rare Veery I shared yesterday I was also able to photograph a couple of Nashville Warblers in a small willow thicket. There were times I could barely see the birds because of the leaves and branches of the willows but I could see them moving around.
I wanted to share this particular image today and explain how I got this shot of an upside down male Nashville Warbler hanging on a willow branch while foraging for aphids.
I could see the Nashville Warbler moving around in the willows but I had a bunch of branches in front of it which at times obstructed my view of him. When he moved to this particular branch I was able to move my lens and line the warbler up in between two very out of focus branches on the right and left side of the warbler.
In this photo there are sharp and blurry looking willow leaves to the right of the warbler that are covered in aphids. A closer look reveals where the sharpness of the leaves drops off and where the other leaves start looking blurry that is where the extremely out of focus branch was in this frame when I took this image. The branch was far enough away from the warbler and from me that the edge and body of the branch seems to have disappeared. The out of focus, light colored branch created a veiled effect inside this photo.
The other reason I wanted to share this Nashville Warbler image is because I adore how the warbler is hanging upside down and the photo makes me smile and that is enough for me.
Life is good. Stay safe.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Nashville Warbler photos plus facts and information about this species.
Delightful! A feathered acrobat. 🙂
Love the acrobatic (and beautiful) aphid killer.
He is a real entertainer! Very nice shot!
Your comments and excellent photos are an inspiration. Warblers are difficult subjects and you have some wonderful photos of some I’ve yet to photograph. I love your blog. Thanks so much.
Wonderful upside down photo! I did not realize so many birds ate aphids. Food is food and aphids to birds are probably the equal to sugar for us. You know I try to cultivate some aphids in my garden and greenhouse, for birds and lady bugs. When the aphids get on plants where I don’t want aphids I brush them off with a paint brush rather than use insecticides. If I have a lot on a location I don’t want them I blast the plant with water from the hose and it washes them off.
It makes me smile too. Great shot!