I was so thrilled to see a Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) this past Wednesday that I returned the following day to see if I could find it again and, hopefully, get some better shots. I had a general idea where I had seen it the first time, but I honestly did not know if the little bird was territorial and would hang out in the same area all of the time.
Imagine my excitement when I actually managed to spot the colorful warbler again as it poked about in the leaves and vegetation on the ground. The yellowthroat was in constant motion and often disappeared from view, but it seemed to be moving in one general direction and I was able to follow it on an adjacent trail. My telephoto zoom lens has a minimum focusing distance of almost 9 feet (274 cm), so I had to keep my distance as I tracked the bird’s movement, which probably helped to keep me from spooking the bird.
Eventually the yellowthroat disappeared from sight and I moved off in search of other subjects. Amazingly I was able to find the yellowthroat later in the day when I returned to the same stretch of trail from the other direction and I resumed my efforts to photograph it.
I am not sure how many Common Yellowthroats are currently residing at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for them in my future visits this winter to the location. My shots below provide a pretty good view of the facial markings of what I believe is the same yellowthroat. If I am fortunate enough to see one again, I will examine carefully that facial area to try to determine if it is the same individual.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great shots, Mike – and perfect lighting. How fortuitous that he posed in that spot for you. That’s one that I have yet to spot
Carol
What a gorgeous bird and fabulous shots. Thank you for sharing, Mike.
Wonderful photos! I applaud your dedication to details and to following a bird.
Curious … do you use a tripod? How heavy is your camera+zoom?
Thanks, Jazz. I use a monopod most of the time with my Tamron 150-600mm lens, including for these shots. I can handhold the lens (and used to do so most of the time), but I think my photos are a little sharper with the monopod. The camera and lens together are about 6 pounds (2.7 kg) or so in weight.
Great job capturing this little fellow, Mike! Your patience paid off in seeing him out in the open.
Thanks, Ellen. I was willing to spend a lot of time and a lot of shots to get some decent shots. With some birds I get a good number of clear shots with just slight differences in head and wing positions. In this case the vast majority of the shots were obstructed and/or out of focus. All it takes, as you know, Ellen, is one good shot to make it all worthwhile.
Nice Mike! Great images showing the details on the small bird!
What a fabulous little bird. I love its spherical shape and that bright pop of yellow.
Thanks, Laura. It is particularly rewarding because you normally don’t find this bird here at this time of the year.
How cheering to see this little bird in your winter .. love it!
The bright pop of yellow is definitely a joy to see during a time of the year when many days are gray and dreary.
Amazing that you found the warbler again. It should be honored to be captured so beautifully.
I think this is the same warbler, though I guess there is a chance that there is more than one at that location. I think that it would be pretty happy with the images that I captured of it, worthy of being posted to Twitter.
Nice captures, Mike. I was interested to learn on allaboutbirds.org that there is a large resident population in the Southeast. I had thought they all migrated further south. News to me!
Love the yellow color! So cute
What a treat to be able to spot him again, Mike! Beautiful shots. The first time I saw this bird, I couldn’t help but think he’s far too good-looking to be called ‘Common’ anything!
Thanks. I have the same reaction when I see almost any of the birds with “common” in their names. “Common” is such a relative term–what is common in one area may well be rare in another location. In terms of beauty, there definitely is nothing “common” about this striking little bird.
Exactly!
I love how the second click enlarges the image to the point where I can see the tiny details of the texture of the feathers. A sweet little bird!
I deliberately try to post photos a bit larger than necessary so that viewers can choose to see the wonderful details, as you did. This is definitely a cute little bird, a real bright spot in the midst of all of the turmoil of recent days.
Oh I love this bird!
Beautiful! Such a cooperative fellow to come back to let you see him again! Lucky you to be persistent. Just saw a bright cardinal our my window on this gloomy day and thought of you!
Thanks, Molly. Since I did that posting, I have seen that Yellowthroat again and will be posting some more photos of him soon. I am happy that you would think of me when you see a cardinal (or a dragonfly). 🙂
[…] If you missed my earlier posts about this Common Yellowthroat, a warbler that is not usually present in our area during the winter, you can check them out at Yellowthroat in January and Yellowthroat Redux. […]