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Posts Tagged ‘Setophaga discolor’

Another Prairie Warbler

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, warbler, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on May 4, 2024| 7 Comments »

I don’t know how much longer the migrating warblers will be in my area, but this past few weeks I have been trying to get outside with my camera as often as I can, hoping to be able to photograph these colorful little birds.  On Tuesday I spotted a Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) in the patient and patiently tracked it as it moved about.

The first photo was a bit of an anomaly, because the warbler momentarily gave me an unobstructed view when it jumped to a high branch. The second photo gives you a much better idea of the typical challenge I face, with the warbler barely showing itself from behind the wall of foliage. Fortunately, I reacted quick and got a shot that is one of my favorites of this warbler season, which has been my most successful one to date.

Prairie Warbler

Prairie Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Singing Prairie Warbler

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, warbler, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 28, 2024| 3 Comments »

This male Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) was signing loudly and proudly when I captured this image on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I just love the way the little bird tilts back his head and sings with all of his might, seemingly putting his entire body into the effort.

Prairie Warbler

Prairie Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Singing Prairie Warbler

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on May 13, 2023| 3 Comments »

On Thursday I was blessed to photograph a beautiful little Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) as it was singing in a small tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. At this time of the year I can often hear the birds, but have trouble spotting them amidst the abundant foliage. Even when I am able to locate a warbler, it is usually perched really high in a tree, out of range of my telephoto lens. In this case, the warbler was almost at eye level when I took these photos.

Despite its name, the Prairie Warbler is not found on a prairie. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Finding this bird during the breeding season is often as simple as finding the scrubby second-growth forests, young pine stands, and overgrown pastures that it prefers. In spring, listen for males singing from a mostly exposed perch in one of the tallest trees in its territory, a distinctive sputtering buzz that starts low and climbs high up the scale, beyond human hearing.”

 

Prairie Warbler

Prairie Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Prairie Warbler

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 30, 2022| 8 Comments »

I spotted this colorful Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) as it was singing high in a tree on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Most of the time I spot birds like this when they fly to a new perch, but this warbler stubbornly refused to move. I stared and stared at the tree, desperately trying to locate the source of the song that the bird was singing over and over again.

I finally located the warbler in the crook of a branch. I was looking upward at such an acute angle that I mostly got a view of the underside of the bird, but eventually I captured the first image in which the warbler was singing. Prairie Warblers have an unusual rising song that the Cornell Lab of Ornithology described in these words, “The Prairie Warbler sings a distinctive, rising and accelerating song with a buzzy quality, zee-zee-zee-zee-zee-zeeeee.” If you click on this link, you can listen to several sound samples of the songs of the Prairie Warbler.

I do not know how much longer the migratory warblers will be in my area, but I hope to have another chance to see some of these joyous little birds. I am still not confident in my identification skills for warblers, so there is a chance that I am wrong about this being a Prairie Warbler, but its beauty is undeniable.

Prairie Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Prairie Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Prairie Warbler

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 27, 2019| 10 Comments »

Yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I was excited to spot a colorful little bird that was new to me. A search through my bird identification guide and some help from my Faceboook friends helped me to determine that it is a Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor).

I am hoping to be able to spot some more warblers this spring while their plumage is particularly colorful. I observed a few warblers last fall and noted that their coloration was a lot more subdued than it is now.

Prairie Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Prairie Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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