Yellow Warbler in the Wasatch Mountains – Nikon D500, f9, 1/640, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Last week while I was photographing a handsome Green-tailed Towhee in the Wasatch Mountains a bright Yellow Warbler caught my eyes when it landed on a flowering shrub. I had been hearing the Yellow Warblers while moving through the canyon especially near the running water of the East Canyon Creek. They have such a lovely song that it always delights me to hear them.
Yellow Warblers can be found in most of North American during their breeding season and although they can be easy to see because they are such a bright yellow bird they can be challenging to photograph because they move so quickly as they glean insects from trees and shrubs.
This Yellow Warbler popped up into view for a few seconds after looking for insects lower in the shrub and looked around for a bit. I do wish the out of focus shrub hadn’t obscured the view of the branch the warbler was perched on but there wasn’t much I could do about that.
Yellow Warbler about to take flight – Nikon D500, f9, 1/640, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I was only able to take a few frames while this Yellow Warbler was out in the open before it flew off and I was delighted to get this pose right before it did. I think I need to go and park in a riparian zone up in the Wasatch Mountains for a couple of hours to see if I can get more images of these sunny yellow birds.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Yellow Warbler photos plus facts and information about this species.
An interesting tidbit about Yellow Warblers: Brown-headed Cowbirds parasitize Yellow Warbler nests and the warblers respond by building other nests directly on top of the parasitized nest which can result in tiers of nests being stacked as many as six times.
Feathered sunshine.
Love the song – and I am intrigued by the nest stacking.
What a cutie, and a pleasant song too; love that first image! Good work Mia and thanks for posting.
Sigh…so very beautiful! Thank you!
Great pics with very interesting commentary. I knew a little bit about the ‘squatter’ habits of the cowbird but I didn’t know that warblers could counter punch. Very cool. Thanks Mia.
Very lovely, I have been cursed by out of focus sticks and blades of grass in my photos lately. I think I have a great shot and when I am home viewing my photos on the computer, there it is that damn stick!
Me too! Or the stick that goes across the birds head that I’m sure wasn’t there when I took the photo!
A curious little yellow, red-striped warbler checked me out one cold, dreary day in the mountains, lifting my sagging spirits with its fearless “friendliness”. It hung around for quite a while before finally flitting off, but, like a small, warm ray of sunshine, it renewed my energy and attitude. You were lucky to get such good shots of this one!
Beautiful photos, MiA.