Four days ago I wrote about the difficulties I have had in obtaining high quality vireo photos, today I am sharing a Western Warbling-Vireo image I took yesterday morning that I am happy with.
Western Warbling-Vireo about to lift off – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I was using my Jeep as a mobile blind and had stopped in a location where I see quite a few different species of birds, I had been watching for a young Green-tailed Towhee to pop up on a brush pile that I could see the towhee moving around in.
Because of my quest to take better Western Warbling-Vireo images I had played their calls and songs on my iBird Pro app while I was at home to familiarize myself with the sounds they make.
I’m glad that I had taken that time to do that because while watching for that towhee to show itself when I heard the call of a Western Warbling-Vireo and I could tell that it was fairly close.
I took my eye away from my camera’s viewfinder and I was able to locate to Western Warbling-Vireo rather quickly by looking in the direction that I heard the call coming from and was pleased to see that the vireo was out in the open, had good light on it and that the setting it was in appealed to my sometimes overly critical eye.
I locked focus on the bird and was able to take just eight photos before this vireo flew off into the trees on the other side of the dirt road.
I could wish that the Western Warbling-Vireo had hung around longer so that I could have taken many more images of it but I’m thrilled that I was able to take any photos of the bird at all. My determination to obtain better photos of this species paid off yesterday.
If you listened to the call I linked to above you might wonder after the scratchy sound why this species was called Western Warbling-Vireo so I am also linking to a recording of their song, give it a listen and you’ll hear how they got their name. Their song is much more pleasing to the ear than their calls.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Western Warbling-Vireo photos plus facts and information about this species.
Simple, delicate and compelling. The detail is [as usual] stunning! Thanks Mia.
I’m lucky that there are at least two warbling vireos at a remote work site that I have been at for the past couple of weeks (miles into the back country at the Lakeside exit). They seem to really like the juniper trees, which are loaded with berries right now. When I was trying to figure out what they were after looking at the pics when I got home, I went back then played the Warbling Vireo call on my phone app and they popped right out. But even at 500 mm they required a big crop. But it was a lifer bird for me, so I’m still happy. But like you, this is a bird that has me on a quest for a closer pic.
Pretty bird and a song to match.
Beautiful capture! Such a pretty bird with that darker head. The song is very pleasing. I do the same thing when going out to find a particular bird…it drives two of my cats crazy…they circle round and round my iMac looking for the bird.
Love this photo! One danged cute bird, in great context…especially like the angled perch and those tiny feet gripping it!!!!
Beautiful photo! I saw quite a few of these at Silver Lake this morning, but the light was poor, very cloudy this am.
Nice.
Excellent capture! Those Warbling Vireos are tough subjects to see, much less get a good photo. It is frustrating to have one singing loudly right nearby and not be able to find it as it weaves through the leaves.
Beautiful image!