{"id":115930,"date":"2023-09-17T04:25:46","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T10:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=115930"},"modified":"2025-10-20T08:39:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T13:39:29","slug":"yellow-warbler-and-golden-quaking-aspen-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/17\/yellow-warbler-and-golden-quaking-aspen-leaves\/","title":{"rendered":"Yellow Warbler And Golden Quaking Aspen Leaves"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Three years ago today, I was up in the Wasatch Mountains, focused on a bright Yellow Warbler snugly nestled in a hawthorn tree on a hillside. As I recall, there was smoke in the air that morning, which made the yellows seem brighter than normal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"LateLate summer Yellow Warbler in the Wasatch Mountains \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/800, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This warbler might have been a hatch-year bird, and if so, I suspect it was a young male. I can barely discern some reddish streaks on its chest in the full-resolution image.<\/p>\n

Yellow Warblers<\/span><\/a> typically begin their fall migration around this time of year. If I plan to take more photos of this species, I’ll need to head into the mountains again very soon. Because of my extended time back east during their peak nesting season, I haven’t photographed many Yellow Warblers at all this year.<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden Quaking Aspen leaves in late summer \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

On the same morning that I took images of the Yellow Warbler above, I also stopped to take a few photos of the golden Quaking Aspen leaves. Fall and winter start earlier in the mountains than it does in the valleys. I’d like to head up there now to take more photos of the aspens in their fall colors before winter snows start flying.<\/p>\n

Officially, fall is just a few days away now, and it can be a very exciting time of the year. Three years ago today, I remember thinking about how wonderful autumn can be for birds, wildlife, and nature photography. And it is.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> golden and good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Yellow Warbler photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my flower, shrub and tree photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three years ago today, I was up in the Wasatch Mountains, focused on a bright Yellow Warbler snugly nestled in a hawthorn tree on a hillside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,5921,4594,2281,14360,26,773],"tags":[14362,1919,3803,6577,3940,7298,13508,12043,7624,14364,6566,6583,14363,4069,3887,4104,14367,6576,7791,7297,2282,2315,4427,14361,14365,3888,3889,14366,6491,6492,4193],"class_list":["post-115930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-east-canyon","category-morgan-county","category-yellow-warblers","category-quaking-aspens","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-american-aspen","tag-aspen","tag-aspens","tag-branches","tag-canyon","tag-crataegus-rivularis","tag-deciduous-tree","tag-female-immature","tag-golden","tag-golden-aspen","tag-hawthorn","tag-leaves","tag-mountain-aspen","tag-mountains","tag-yellow-warbler","tag-perched","tag-popple","tag-populus-tremuloides","tag-quaking-aspen","tag-river-hawthorn","tag-setophaga-aestiva","tag-summer-3","tag-tree","tag-trembling-aspen","tag-trembling-poplar","tag-warbler","tag-warblers","tag-white-poplar","tag-wood-warbler","tag-wood-warblers","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/yellow-warbler-immature-golden-mia-mcpherson-9871.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-u9Q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26436,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/07\/10\/a-male-yellow-warbler-and-aspens-in-the-uinta-national-forest\/","url_meta":{"origin":115930,"position":0},"title":"Male Northern Yellow Warbler and Aspens in the Uinta National Forest","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Northern Yellow Warblers are so bright it is not hard to see them as they flit around gleaning insects from the trees in the Uinta National Forest.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Northern Yellow Warbler and aspens, Cascade Springs, Wasatch National Forest, Wasatch County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/yellow-warbler-male-mia-mcpherson-3830.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/yellow-warbler-male-mia-mcpherson-3830.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/yellow-warbler-river-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-7627.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/yellow-warbler-river-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-7627.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/yellow-warbler-river-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-7627.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/yellow-warbler-river-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-7627.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":69893,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/05\/14\/female-yellow-warbler-foraging-in-a-hawthorn-tree\/","url_meta":{"origin":115930,"position":3},"title":"Female Northern Yellow Warbler Foraging In A Hawthorn Tree","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Eight days ago I photographed my first male Northern Yellow Warbler of the year and two days ago I had some luck with my first females of the season.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Yellow Warbler female looking up into a River Hawthorn tree, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/yellow-warbler-female-foraging-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-1383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/yellow-warbler-female-foraging-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-1383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53053,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/07\/12\/not-so-mellow-yellow-warbler-males\/","url_meta":{"origin":115930,"position":5},"title":"Not So Mellow Northern Yellow Warbler Males","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Northern Yellow Warblers are anything but mellow instead they are frenetic, hyperactive, frenzied, energetic and move so quickly they sometimes make me dizzy trying to track them with my long lens.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Northern Yellow Warbler in a hawthorn tree, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, 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