![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yellow-warbler-5976b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"yellow-warbler-5976b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nI was particularly excited about the MacGillivray’s Warblers, a bird Cornell’s Birds of the World calls “a highly sought after trophy species by birdwatchers.”<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/5.6, 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<\/em><\/p>\n But I had at least some success with Yellow Warblers too. This is a complete grab shot. I’d been photographing other birds much further away when this guy unexpectedly flew in close to me and posed for about 3 seconds. The branches and leaves were so thick I was extremely lucky to get a few unobstructed photos.<\/p>\n A bit more of a head turn would have been nice and I’m not particularly fond of the out of focus vegetation in the foreground on the right but otherwise I like the photo quite well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But the biggest excitement of the morning was provided by nesting MacGillivray’s Warblers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, 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<\/em><\/p>\n There were at least three of them in the area – this one is a male, distinguished from the similar female by his black lores and darker gray head. Both sexes have bright white eye crescents, 1 above and below each eye. This was the only time one of them came in close enough and out in the open enough for decent photos.<\/p>\n They were among the toughest subjects I’ve ever tried to photograph. MacGillivray’s Warbler is often referred to as a “shy skulker, making it difficult to detect on migration and on the breeding grounds” and that was certainly my experience with them yesterday. Usually I only got brief, far away glimpses of them as they darted from bush to bush and a House Wren that was upset by their presence certainly didn’t help matters. The highly aggressive wren harassed and chased the warblers almost constantly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Their nest was far away and completely hidden but I did get a few documentary shots of the female with nesting material in her bill. In this species the female is primarily responsible for nest building but as we can see in this photo her mate was intensely interested in the process.<\/p>\n Little is known about the breeding biology of MacGillivray’s Warblers. A thorough study is yet to be done on their mating displays, nesting success, long-term reproductive success, natal dispersal, philopatry, predators throughout the annual cycle, mortality and longevity.<\/p>\n I have hopes of photographing this pair during much of this nesting cycle so who knows what behaviors I may be able to document.<\/p>\n I look forward to the opportunity if things work out.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was particularly excited about the MacGillivray’s Warblers, a bird Cornell’s Birds of the World calls “a highly sought after trophy species by birdwatchers.”\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/macgillivrays-warbler-6162-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"macgillivrays-warbler-6162-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/macgillivrays-warbler-6077-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"macgillivrays-warbler-6077-ron-dudley\\"")
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