Three days ago while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains I had an immature Wilson’s Warbler in my viewfinder for just a few moments. I’d seen a flash of yellow feathers darting into the base of the clump of willows then watched as the willows leaves fluttered and moved as the young bird made its way into an opening about midway up the willows.

Immature Wilson's Warbler, Wasatch Mountains, East Canyon, Morgan County, UtahImmature Wilson’s Warbler – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

The light wasn’t great because of the smoke from the wildfires here in the west but I had just enough shutter speed to get a few sharp images of the immature Wilson’s Warbler.

I would love to have Wilson’s Warblers in my viewfinder more often than I do so I may need to make some changes in order to do that. This species does breed in northern Utah so I know I need to find some areas where they breed next spring and then use my sit and wait approach to photograph them during the nesting season. Right now these tiny warblers are on the move because it is fall migration time for them.

I am seeing fewer warblers in the mountains now but that is expected during this time of the year. I only spotted a few Yellow Warblers but I did find a high number of Yellow-rumped Warblers in the high country three days ago.

Life is good.

Mia

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