It was so cool last week to spot a few warblers at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Every spring and fall a variety of warblers migrate through our area. Quite often I can hear them twittering and tweeting in the trees, but it is rare for me to see one clearly. Usually I will see only a momentary flash of yellow that is quickly swallowed up in the sea of green foliage.
The bird in the first photo is a a Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum). Most of the time I see Palm Warblers foraging on the ground, but this one accommodated me by hopping up onto a tree and giving me an unobstructed shot. The Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) in the second shot was not quite so cooperative. It was buried in the vegetation and never fully revealed itself.
The migration season for warblers will be drawing down soon. I have only modest shots like these to show for it, but I am not disappointed—some years I have not been able to get any shots at all. In the fall, the colors of the warblers tends to be more muted than in the spring, when the males are sporting their breeding plumage. Somehow the muted tones of the birds matches the mood of the season, as colors fade and we gradually move towards the monochromatic days of the winter.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I enjoy your photos of birds, Mike, you remind me of their majestic qualities in so tiny a frame.
Warblers ❤️
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
They are so beautiful, Mike. Thank you for sharing. x
Nice, clear shots, Mike. They can be very elusive!
Thanks, Eliza. “Elusive” is definitely an appropriate word for these little birds. 🙂
Very nice Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!
Thanks, Reed.
Nice captures of the little ones, Mike. I’ve seen a few, but elusively into the brush they go.
When it comes to warblers, I do a lot of waiting and hoping, but most of the time I see movements in the leaves without actually seeing the birds.