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I had a pretty good look at this adult male but I wish he’d been just a little closer.<\/p>\n
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This is the fledgling I spent the most time with – the other 2 rarely\u00a0showed themselves. This little feller was sampling almost everything in sight to see if\u00a0it\u00a0was edible.\u00a0Often it wasn’t\u00a0but I did see\u00a0it pick up and swallow several tiny insects. Just before this shot was taken he had another one in his mouth that he apparently swallowed but we can still see a leftover bit on top of the tongue.<\/p>\n
These youngsters were still very young and I suspect they fledged in the last 24 hours. I could see them flitting from branch to branch but they never flew very far – only a few inches.\u00a0I doubt\u00a0they were yet\u00a0capable of\u00a0sustained flight.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yellow-warbler-3934-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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One of the few clear looks I got of any of the fledglings was on this branch.<\/p>\n
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When it turned around on the perch I had a better view of those still-growing flight feathers.<\/p>\n
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This begging pose as a parent was flying in with food gives us more evidence of its tender age – the still-featherless “armpits”.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yellow-warblerr-4130-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"yellow-warblerr-4130-ron-dudley\\"")
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It was so damned frustrating to get fairly good looks at the lone fledglings\u00a0but always have branches or leaves blowing in front of them or shadows on them whenever an adult came in with a snack. This is one of the best shots I\u00a0was able to get\u00a0of\u00a0a food exchange but there’s still shadows on the fledgling and no catch light in the adult’s eye.<\/p>\n
Here we see one of the tiny insects being dropped between the two birds.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yellow-warbler-4016b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"yellow-warbler-4016b-ron-dudley\\"")
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The feeding was always very quick. The adult\u00a0would stuff\u00a0food into the fledgling’s gaping mouth…<\/p>\n
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and then it was gone in a flash.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yellow-warbler-4393-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"yellow-warbler-4393-ron-dudley\\"")
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Toward the end of my session with them a male adult came in unusually close for a short serenade.<\/p>\n
In addition to the leaves and branches constantly blowing in front of them I’ve rarely been as physically uncomfortable photographing birds as\u00a0I was with these warblers. Usually when\u00a0I’ve been\u00a0uncomfortable in the field it’s been due to extreme cold during winter. But yesterday it was because in order to get a tunnel of sight on the birds through the leaves I had to hold my body above the pickup seat\u00a0and shoot at awkward angles for extended periods of time. I have sore muscles this morning and I’m sure I know why.<\/p>\n
But I shouldn’t complain. Very few humans\u00a0ever see the intimate details of daily life of these secretive birds like I did through my long lens\u00a0and I was even able to get some interesting photos documenting their behaviors.<\/p>\n
For that I’m grateful.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Including a very young fledgling being fed.<\/p>\n