Thursday, September 10, 2009

Back to birding..

I have a renewed appreciation for those of you who manage to successfully capture those tiny little warblers with your camera's lens!! Quick Draw McGraw ..I'm not. I've never seen birds move so fast and disappear so quickly. Attempting to get a decent picture of any warbler certainly put a dent in my Friday morning patience so to help myself regain my calm... I took some pictures of all the color that was blooming around me.. the Tickseed Sunflowers were everywhere..stunning little bits of color and light..extremely radiant, I think, when seen in the open fields....
so pretty against all those shades of "calming" green..ahhh...see it's working...

As I walked along the mowed path near the nature center a tiny movement caught my eye. OMgosh, a warbler that wasn't hanging out at the top of the trees!! I recognized this little bird right away, even though I haven't seen a Nashville Warbler since one visited me outside my study window in December of '08! If it had been sitting still I don't think I would have seen him at all... he blended so well into the yellow-greens of this bush...

That grayish head and that white eye ring looked so familiar..and he certainly was busy.. eating whatever insects these little warblers eat..

and when he finally decided to take a break...he chose to do so with his back to me, but hey, I was just thankful I wasn't having to break my neck to see him.

I was happy that I snapped this shot of him as it showed his underparts pattern.. the yellow from the throat to the breast and then the white belly and then the yellow under his tail. It just confirmed to me that I was correct and he was a Nashville. What a thrill .. to see another Nashville...hopefully this little guy will make his way to his winter residence safely..I certainly don't want to see him feeding outside MY window during the snowy and cold month of December!
I'll end this post on a who am I ...question. I saw this bird for 4 seconds..if that..I managed one picture of it and it was gone..I've looked through my Warbler book photos and.. maybe.. I might have a guess.. but I know I have lots of blogger bird experts out there who will lend me a hand on this one!!

14 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

WOWWY!!! You got a Black-throated Blue Warbler!!!! I saw my lifer Black-throated Blue in WV and It brought me to tears. I think it's THE PRETTIEST!!!

Congratulations! I enlarged the photo and the gleam in his eye is amazing.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Wow Tina.... Seeing those warblers is amazing. That blue one is gorgeous. I've always loved the yellow ones --but that blue one is fabulous!!!! Congrats.

Hugs,
Betsy

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Sure hope that Nashville made up for the others who took off.The first picture is stunning.I love the bright yellow among the greens.
Blessings,Ruth

Chris said...

Hi Tina,
Yes, I agree, the warblers can sometime turns you nuts!! It is very hard to get a nice picture of them, they are moving so much! But this time you got them, and nicely....
Well done on the Black-throated Blue Warbler, that is a species!!!
have a nice birding week end!

Gail said...

Been trying to capture a wood pecker on film here and STILL trying.

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

I just love those mouthy little birds. I had a warbler enter the back door while I was grabbing a stick of wood last winter. The little feather ball landed on a little weeping willow sitting in my window-seal and really did not want to leave the warm spot he found. He would tilt his head a beep-beep at me when I was trying to talk him out. I enjoyed your pictures and posts. Have a great day!!!

Janice K said...

Good for you! I'd love to see both those birds....and that first picture with all the yellow flowers is really pretty...looks like Fall.

Shelley said...

Congrats on your great birdy finds! You DO have a good eye!!! Both birds are cuties!

jalynn01 said...

I am in complete agreement with you about the warblers...I call them flitty.. they never stay still and so hard to photograph and ID. But that being said you did a great job on the Nashville ..he is so cute. And the BTBlue is gorgeous. As Lynne said the gleam in his eye was amazing. Good job!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Tina: Beautiful captures in the greenery.
BTW: Send me an E-mail, I have a bird I've never seen before and I need help.

Eve said...

Oh Tina! I'm having such a time now. Warblers everywhere and I have no clue at some of them!! I'm going to work even harder to get pictures. It is NO easy! Wow I read this is a Black-throated Blue from Lynne and she would know!!
Keep it up. I'm inspired now.

Chris Petrak said...

Warblers are tough to get and you did a good job with the nashville

George said...

I think you have a both a quick eye and a quick camera trigger finger. These are wonderful pictures of the warblers.

Dawn Fine said...

Howdee Tina..
I know what u mean..I hardly ever get pics of warblers..u did good.
and a Black-throated blue..wow..

would like to hear your thoughts..