Seeing and photographing an immature Pine Warbler yesterday morning made me smile. I was standing up when I saw the young warbler land on a vine in good light.
Immature Pine Warbler in September – Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1/200, ISO 1600, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light
I had been focused on another bird in the trees to the southwest that I couldn’t see from my chair. When I spotted the Pine Warbler, I quickly aimed my lens, focused, and took many images of the bird.
At the time, I wasn’t sure whether the warbler was a female or an immature bird. I couldn’t see a fleshy gape, so I planned to label the Pine Warbler as female/immature.
Then I went to AllAboutBirds.org and discovered something I hadn’t known before. Under a photo of an immature Pine Warbler, I found this statement: “Immature birds vary from gray to pale yellow, but they all have a white eyering.”
I looked at my photos and the white eyering stood out.
Young Pine Warbler near the end of summer – Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1/250, ISO 1600, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light
I’ve been having a great time seeing, hearing, and photographing Pine Warblers. Pine Warblers are a species I never saw, heard, or photographed in Utah. My galleries now contain adult males, a female, and young Pine Warblers of at least two ages.
My next self-challenge? I want to take videos of the males singing in the spring. Their songs are quite lovely to listen to.
In the meantime, I plan to photograph Pine Warblers whenever I have the opportunity. They are terrific subjects, and I hope to find more of them soon.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Pine Warbler photos plus facts and information about this species.
I love the composition of these shots and the pointing out the Warbler’s eye ring made the pics even more interesting. Thanks Mia.
What a charmer – and that eye ring is certainly an excellent identifier.