Incredibly quick preening motions frozen in time by very fast shutter speeds.
Just over a week ago in the mountains I took several hundred photos of a very wet male Yellow Warbler preening after his bath. His preening actions were so fast they were just a blur to the naked eye so while I was reviewing my photos it was like a treasure hunt as I looked for interesting poses that I had no idea I’d captured. These are some of the poses I liked best, in no particular order.
Image techs for most of these photos are in the range of 1/5000 – 1/6400, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender. Without the very fast shutter speed I was able to achieve in the good light most of these photos would have been a blurry mess.
Five days ago I posted a single photo of this same warbler that allowed a good look at his preen gland.
He had just bathed in the stream below and to the right of this perch. I had a narrow window of view of him through all the branches but in most of my shots the bird was unobstructed, or close to it.
Almost immediately he started erecting his wet feathers, shaking, preening and contorting his body into interesting and even humorous poses.
In this pose I thought he looked a little indignant that I wasn’t allowing him to attend to his toilette in private.
His tail was often twisted to the side to allow him access to his preen gland at the base of his rump.
Here he’d been grooming his tail but I couldn’t see his eye until immediately after he’d released one of his tail feathers.
This looks a little like a wing stretch but it was much quicker than a stretch. He was just throwing his feathers and body parts around in an effort to dry them off.
Even his ‘armpits’ needed attention, in this case accessed from behind. I envy his flexible neck.
Here he’s rezipping the hooks that hold the barbules of some of some of his wing feathers together, essentially restoring the integrity and even the shape of each feather.
I like this wing position and the resulting shadows across his breast. Great eye contact and good light on his face are a bonus.
He was often shaking and contorting so violently he seemed to be unable to control where his body parts went.
This time he almost fell off his perch. There’s no light in his eye but I had to include the photo anyway.
Just another interesting pose.
I almost didn’t include this shot because we see very little of his head. But closer inspection revealed…
something humans rarely see in such a tiny bird. Here the tip of his beak is peaking between the feathers as it’s being drawn down the length of one of his secondaries while he’s rezipping its hooks. It’s amazing how efficient these incredibly fast movements can be in repairing and grooming feathers.
I’m hearing what are probably warbler chicks in the willows near where I photographed this male so I suspect his bathing and grooming break was brief before he had to go back to work.
I hope he enjoyed his respite. I thoroughly enjoyed photographing it.
Ron
This was delightful. When I lived with parrots, one of my favorite times was bath time!
I’ve only seen a Yellow Warbler once and got just one photo of “him”. I loved this series of photographs. I have camera envy as my equipment could never have captured these photographs. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing them with me (us).
Thanks, Karen. I think most photographers, including me, know camera envy. Although it’s really more like lens envy in most cases.
Delightful!! And congrats on catching the preen gland!! That was a fascinating post yesterday. 🙂
Thanks, Kathleen. I’m still stoked about getting that preen gland shot.
Now this is an utterly charming series. And fills me with awe. Even with my two (much larger) feet firmly on the ground I would join them if I attempted some of these manoeuvres.
Thanks Ron. Lots.
Thank you, EC. I’m glad you enjoyed the series.
Don’t join your feet! 🙂
These are all wonderful but, honestly, the one where he’s upside down, looking at us under the branch, is my favorite (even with no catch light). 😂
Amazing, intricate “action” shots, Ron, so glad you showed us all these bath time rituals!
“the one where he’s upside down…. looking at us under the branch, is my favorite”
Good to know Chris. And to think I very nearly didn’t include that one because there was no light in his eye. Silly me.
Little yellow bundle of wet, drippy delight! 😀 I had the same thought as you about his look in the second shot — “You’re really going to watch me do this, eh?” A big thank-you to both you and the warbler for letting us see behind the scenes. 😉
Thank you, Marty. From both of us… 🙂
Who knew preening was so intricate and detailed? I’m glad I don’t have to do this every time I bathe. Especially in a tree. Reminds of the motherly admonition to wash behind your ears. And all kinds of other places.
I don’t understand those legs: pinkish-gray in some photos, white in others, two-toned in yet others. Just light and shade?
“I’m glad I don’t have to do this every time I bathe. Especially in a tree”
Now that brought a vision to my head. And a smile to my face.
Yes, I think it’s just light and shade.
And now *I* can’t unsee it! 😂
You’re a star, Lyle!
The series gave me a morning smile. I too like that second photo with a glare of ” really”.
He looks a little miffed at me in that shot doesn’t he, April.
I absolutely love really detailed behaviour series like these. Great, great shots. Love the action and your equally detailed commentary. It’s like being right there with you, watching him. Am so glad you included all these. Thanks for sharing them.
“I absolutely love really detailed behavior series like these”
I’m a sucker for them too, Pat. They’re one of my favorite things about bird photography.
I like Alison’s question – laughing because I don’t think I would ever have thought of that. I really enjoyed the first series of this wet warbler, but this is even better. Especially like the various shades of the wet yellow feathers and the wings etc. What a contortionist he is in some of these photos especially 8 and 9.
Thanks for bringing this series back. Without photography you would just be witnessing a bird rapidly preening and would hardly be aware of the details.
Thanks very much, Everett.
Wonderful series stopping the action…… 🙂 Thought he was getting poked by a stick when it was his leg! 😳 One would never see the tiny beak knitting the hooks back together.
“One would never see the tiny beak knitting the hooks back together”
That’s for sure. It was just too fast. And too small.
Delightful! What a treat to see this entire sequence… I wonder how long it took him to get dry? Thanks once again, Ron, for all your fabulous photos!
I could only guess, Alison. He was still visibly wet when he flew off.