Yellow-rumped Warblers in October

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Yellow-rumped Warblers in October

October 17, 2018 by Mike Powell

At this time of the year Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) are probably the most numerous warblers in our area. You can often seem them in constant motion flitting about high in the trees. They rarely stay still for more than a moment and it is unusual to get a clear view of the entire body of one.

I have spent a lot of time this week patiently tracking these little birds at several locations at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and managed to get a few shots that I really like. The first image shows a Yellow-rumped Warbler perched at ground level on the trunk of a tree that had fallen across the road and had been cut up and moved to the side. I particularly like that it shows the tiny feet of this bird that is about 5 inches in length (13 cm). The little yellow streaks just under the wings help to identify this as a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

The second image, possibly my favorite, shows the yellow patch on the bird’s rump that is responsible for its name. The intense focus of the warbler as it looks upward help to give this image a dynamic element that is absent in many images of perched birds.

The final image has a studio-like feel to it, because the sky was completely overcast and turned white as I was processing the image. I had tracked the bird when it entered into the vegetation and managed to get this shot when it finally popped up at the top of the tree and stretched its neck to look around.

8 Responses

on October 17, 2018 at 5:53 am | Reply svtakeiteasy

That last image has a botanical painting quality to it, Mike!
- on October 17, 2018 at 6:09 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Chris, I had the same impression. I think the white background helps to give it that feel, plus the way that you can see the veins of the leaves. It certainly looks a lot different than it would have if there had been a bright blue sky that day.
on October 17, 2018 at 6:09 am | Reply blhphotoblog

Exceptional shots again Mike, well caught!
on October 17, 2018 at 10:20 am | Reply kenneturner

You did well!
on October 17, 2018 at 1:54 pm | Reply Eliza Waters

Beautiful, Mike. Your patience paid off!
on October 18, 2018 at 3:24 pm | Reply Reed Andariese

Nice Mike! They are tough to photograph. Well Done as usual!
on October 18, 2018 at 9:09 pm | Reply Molly Lin Dutina

Have you considered submitting your photos to publisher of bird identifier books? Wonderful!
- on October 19, 2018 at 6:02 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Molly. Interestingly enough, many bird identification guides use artists rather than photographers, because artists can put in multiple identifying marks that might not be visible in a single photo.