Autumn Palm Warbler

October 25, 2020 by Mike Powell

I thought that all of the migrating warblers had already finished passing through our area, so I was delighted when I spotted this beautiful little Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) this past Monday at Huntley Meadows Park. We had several days of warmer than average temperatures, so I had switched back to my macro lens from my longer telephoto lens, thinking there was a chance I might get some close-ups of late season dragonflies. As it turned out, I did not see many dragonflies, but did see a small group of birds including this one.

Close-up shots of the warbler were out of the question, but I was determined get some shots nonetheless as the little warbler bounced all around in the vegetation. Although I had to crop these three shots quite a bit, I was pretty happy with them, because collectively they provide a nice view of the yellow coloration on various parts of this warbler’s body. The colors of the warblers in the autumn are beautiful, I believe, even though they tend to be significantly more subdued than the bird’s brighter colors in the spring.

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Palm Warbler, Setophaga palmarum, Tamron 180mm | 18 Comments

18 Responses

on October 25, 2020 at 8:48 am | Reply Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography

You caught the details nicely. WP Reader would not enlarge, but went to your site and they are very nice 👏👏
- on October 25, 2020 at 9:21 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Ted. Oh, the joys of WordPress. When I look at them in my WP Reader, they enlarge just find. I have no idea if it is device-dependent or operating system dependent or what. Randomness has become part of our daily lives, it seems.
  - on October 25, 2020 at 12:32 pm Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography
    
    It’s also based on if you are using the new editor or old. With new editor you need to specifically point to ‘media files’ with each image.
  - on October 25, 2020 at 1:16 pm Mike Powell
    
    Interesting. I am still using the old editor.
on October 25, 2020 at 10:00 am | Reply Dan Antion

I think I like the compostions you have better than close-up, anyway, Mike.
- on October 25, 2020 at 12:06 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Dan. I too like the compositions that show the bird in its natural environment. I have to remind myself of that quite often, because my normal tendency is to get in close, whether it is with my macro lens of my telephoto zoom lens. It causes me to look at the world a little differently when I know I don’t have the convenience of zooming in or zooming out–if I want a different view when I have a fixed-focal length lens like my macro lens, I have to physically move.
on October 25, 2020 at 10:06 am | Reply picpholio

I admire your knowledge of all these birds and the pictures you take to illustrate your posts.
- on October 25, 2020 at 12:07 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks so much. I can identify quite a few birds, but I still rely on the helps of experts on-line and on my identification guides.
on October 25, 2020 at 1:42 pm | Reply Reed Andariese

Nice series of images Mike!
on October 25, 2020 at 2:17 pm | Reply Suzette Benjamin

Oh so beautiful! I love all three photos, but the last one is my favorite. The bird is so well blended into its perch, I had to take a second look before I “saw” the warbler. Great photos Mike!🙏
on October 25, 2020 at 3:58 pm | Reply krikitarts

They all enlarge as usual for me, and I’m particularly fond of your first one. The bird just glows, especially since you caught it with the darker foliage behind it.
on October 25, 2020 at 9:50 pm | Reply Eliza Waters

Beautiful portraits, Mike. That first one is superb!
I’m still seeing warblers passing through here this weekend, mostly yellow-rumped/myrtles. Seems late, but perhaps our warm October has them lingering.
- on October 26, 2020 at 7:53 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Eliza. The first one is definitely my favorite too–I think the lighting and the pose made it special. I’ll probably go out this week to see if I can spot any stragglers.
on October 26, 2020 at 4:58 pm | Reply nliakos

I love these shots, Mike. The vegetation is part of the allure. The bird is sweet. The yellow feathers are gorgeous.
- on October 27, 2020 at 5:45 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Nina. You have expressed really well the very reasons why I chose to do the postings, even though the shots were not in my “preferred” style. Beauty comes to us in many different ways.
on October 28, 2020 at 1:06 pm | Reply Ellen Jennings

Very nice captures, Mike, and great fun to see these fellows in the fall. Their colors may not be as bright but the foliage is a bit more cooperative!
on October 28, 2020 at 7:12 pm | Reply Molly Lin Dutina

Oh that first photo is lovely. I see nothing subdued in the colors of that shot! Looks like a jolly little bird.
- on October 28, 2020 at 7:40 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Molly. I love the colors in the shot. The warblers have more bright yellow in the spring, but I think the autumn accents of yellow are just as beautiful.