For me photographing Yellow Warblers is usually an exercise in frustration. Because of their preferred habitat of wet, deciduous thickets they’ve been described as “a brief splash of yellow in a patch of willow” and they seldom give me time to get my lens on them. When I succeed there’s usually obstructing branches, shadows on the bird or poor light. And they seldom hold still long enough for me to get the shot I’m after.
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
But 3 days ago I had some limited success with them in the Wasatch Mountains. I caught this one in the open, it gave me a nice head turn and there was good light on most of the bird. I’m not happy with the shadows on the wings and tail but with this species I rarely have everything come together and I still like the photo.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Four minutes later another warbler on a similar perch allowed me a few shots. This time there are no shadows on the bird but there was a small piece of bright branch in the upper left corner of the frame that I found very distracting so I zapped it. The leaves poking into the frame at lower left don’t bother me much but that bright branch sure did.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
About an hour later I found this Green-tailed Towhee perched in a profusion of flowers. Serviceberry abounds in this canyon and occasionally I’ll find a bird perched on it while it’s flowering. In this case the flowers, leaves and branches almost overwhelm the bird but it’s such a pretty setting I can largely overlook that.
On an unrelated note: Some readers have recently been frustrated because auto-fill no longer works so they have to completely fill in their name and email address before posting a comment on my blog. This is almost certainly due to the recent implementation of GDPR (General Data and Protection Regulation) and privacy compliances on the internet that became enforceable on May 25.
I have the same problem on several sites I visit regularly although it doesn’t seem to be universal. If there’s a work-around I haven’t been able to find it. Sorry…
Ron
WOW! Fantastic shots Ron!
Charlotte Norton
Thank you, Charlotte.
Very nice captures!
Yellow Warblers are among our earliest fall migrants. They’re just as hard to photograph down here!
The Green-tailed Towhee is a stunner, but alas, they refuse to visit our humid paradise.
Yup, don’t think you’ll see one of these towhees down there, Wally. But then you have large numbers of species that we don’t.
Three beauties…thanks…
🙂
I have heard a number of bloggers whinging, bitching and moaning about how difficult the warblers are to photograph. Their beauty is the hook which has caught you as you try to capture them.
And I love these shots. And the backdrop the Green-tailed Towhee is gorgeous. Perfect match.
Thanks very much, EC.
Beautiful photos.
Thanks, Jean.
What beautiful birds, Ron.
I like the first photo because the branch and the bird are more erect. Quite a spread of feet. I like the muted flower, as well.
Thanks for sharing your world with us and glad you are able to get out and about.
Thanks very much, Alice.
My experience is similar but I still try. I had a dead Yellow Warbler a neighbor child brought to me hoping I could help it. It was a beautiful male bird in full breeding plumage. I told him about the bird and and how birds anatomy was special. I try to use any situation as teaching possibility, sadly dead birds are the best, so many children and adults are disconnected from our natural world.
All we can do is try, April. If we keep at it long enough we usually succeed on some level.
I actually saw and tried to photograph a Yellow Warbler recently. I don’t have anywhere near your level of skill or patience, and yes, it was very frustrating. It was still fun to see the bird. though. I like all three of these shots. For me it’s unusual that you would post photos of two different species, both of which I can see locally.
“it was very frustrating”
That’s almost universal for those who try to photograph Yellow Warblers, Susan. Thank you.
What gorgeous BEAUTIES! Yes, I say that to all the birds (except starlings) AND I’m easily amused with natural beauty. It delights my soul all the way into the middle of my DNA! And that’s good.
Sadly, I’ve never seen either one of these birds out in The Great Out There. That probably goes back to that thing where there’s no lens for this situation. It’s weird when that happens. You’d think the prescription glasses would work all the time, but NO! Sigh.
Thanks, Laura. I’m surprised you haven’t seen Yellow Warblers.
Stunning photos, Ron! I see Yellow Warblers fairly regularly when I’m birding along riparian corridors, but I rarely see them out in the open. Well done!
Thank you, Diane.
Thank you for a wonderful start to my day! These are great shots and thanks to your blog, I can now truly appreciate the degree of difficulty they entail. Kudos!
Thanks, Marty. As someone else said on FB “among western passerines, only the Rub-crowned Kinglet is more frustrating than the Yellow Warbler.” I agree with that assessment.
All I can really say is that I’ve been in that situation (Spotting a warbler or other “hyper-active” species) and come out with shots way worse than yours. You did great, and in all honesty I think I like that first shot of the warbler more than the second. I think it has to do with the way the bird is positioned vs the second one, but to each their own. Once again, those are some amazing shots Ron!
I agree, Xavier. I also prefer the pose in the first shot over the one in the second, though the difference is relatively minor. Thank you.
Beautiful! We have a few of the yellow warblers this year – they like to get in the corners of the picture window and collect cob webs so other than through a dirty window they are “busy” and hard to spot/capture in the open! 🙂 Green Towhee is a pretty bird as is the “setting”.
Judy, construction material for their nests varies considerably, depending on what’s available. One Yellow Warbler nest in Labrador consisted “almost entirely of white rabbits’ fur”.
Good morning, Ron!! I’m the same as Sarah – I’ve never seen either bird but thanks to you, I have. I know I’ve told you in prior comments that with my bad eyesight, I don’t even try to since I don’t even see the little ones like our warblers much less photograph them. I’m really missing out, I know! By the way, I have a suggestion for dealing with the posting problem for your blog – at least temporarily!! Anyone who is on FaceBook can post their comments there after viewing them on the internet without having to enter their info. Just a suggestion.
Jo Ann, I assume you’ve tried glasses to help your vision issues? The work well for some folks and I use reading glasses for close stuff but I don’t wear my prescription glasses because they just don’t seem to help my vision. Don’t know why…
I know why! You’re of that age where there is no lens for this situation. Frustrates me every day.
There may be no lens that works for me but they’re sure willing to sell them to me anyway…
Have never seen either one of these birds, they are beautiful. Great colors. Thanks.
Thanks, Sarah. Yellow Warblers are fairly common in summer throughout most of North America in the right habitat. I hope you get to see a few of them some day. The range of the Green-tailed Towhee is more restricted to the west.
An ‘exercise in patience’ is what I call getting the ideal warbler shot! 😞 I know if I sit long enough I can usually get satisfying results with other birds but not these little flickers of color. Their quickness leaves me more exasperated than satisfied but then that is what draws us back for more. I really like that second photo…heck, I would be satisfied with the first!
I can tell you’ve “been there, done that”, Kathy. They’re so darn pretty and easy to see, even from some distance, because of their bright yellow color that we just ache to get a shot of them. But their uncooperative habits usually put the kibosh on our intentions.