{"id":70201,"date":"2020-05-23T06:08:31","date_gmt":"2020-05-23T12:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=70201"},"modified":"2025-10-20T13:47:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T18:47:30","slug":"one-spring-morning-when-yellow-rumped-warblers-dripped-from-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/05\/23\/one-spring-morning-when-yellow-rumped-warblers-dripped-from-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"One Spring Morning When Yellow-rumped Warblers Dripped From Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Yellow-rumped Warbler perched in a hawthorn \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost one year ago I spent my morning photographing so many Yellow-rumped Warblers that they seemed to almost drip from the trees. There were a few locations high up in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> where the Yellow-rumped Warblers were so thick that I had trouble deciding which birds to focus on as they moved around in the trees, on the ground, and at the edge of a creek. They may have been having what I call a “mini fallout” because the colder weather we had last spring had kept them down lower in the valleys for longer than normal.<\/p>\n

Most of the warblers were foraging for prey by grabbing it from the ground or hawking insects from the air. This male in breeding plumage used the thorny branches of a hawthorn as a perch while he hawked insects from the air.<\/p>\n

Looking at the length of the thorn that is to the right of the male’s tail makes it easy to understand how “thorn” came to be used in the common name of hawthorns.\u00a0 That thorn appears to be longer than the width of the warbler’s head.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Yellow-rumped Warbler up close in a willow \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I recall that I saw more male Yellow-rumped Warblers that morning in the high mountain canyons but I did see and photograph a few of the females too. This female perched so close to where I sat in a “mobile blind” that I had trouble focusing on her and had to turn the limiter off on my lens.<\/p>\n

\"ViewView of the yellow rump of a male Yellow-rumped Warbler \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

These last two photos easily show how Yellow-rumped Warblers got the nickname “Butter Butts”, that buttery yellow rump sure stands out even when I am not looking at the birds through a high-powered lens. Their rumps shine like beacons.<\/p>\n

\"ButterButter Butt – Male Yellow-rumped Warbler \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

That morning I took hundreds of photos of the Yellow-rumped Warblers and tossed lots of them into my delete bin because they didn’t meet my standards but when I have these birds in front of me in large numbers I take as many photos of them as I can. After all, it isn’t everyday that I find warblers dripping from the trees.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Stay safe.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Almost one year ago I spent my morning photographing so many Yellow-rumped Warblers that they seemed to almost drip from the trees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":161014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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":""},"categories":[27,4594,1731,26,773,487],"tags":[5180,4053,6150,9952,3940,9953,4070,6566,4062,530,9956,4378,4069,4104,698,165,9954,6498,9955,4076,6707,3888,3889,6107,902,6492,2430],"class_list":["post-70201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-morgan-county","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","category-yellow-rumped-warblers","tag-back-view","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-butter-butt","tag-butter-butts","tag-canyon","tag-dripped","tag-female","tag-hawthorn","tag-male","tag-migration","tag-mini-fallout","tag-morning","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-setophaga-coronata","tag-spring","tag-thorn","tag-thorns","tag-thorny","tag-trees","tag-up-close","tag-warbler","tag-warblers","tag-willow","tag-willows","tag-wood-warblers","tag-yellow-rumped-warbler"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-male-summit-county-mia-mcpherson-1814.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-igh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58195,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/05\/28\/photographing-spring-yellow-rumped-warblers-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":70201,"position":0},"title":"Photographing Spring Yellow-rumped Warblers In The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Three days ago I photographed Yellow-rumped Warblers in the Wasatch Mountains, these warblers are a challenge because they move so quickly but they are always fun to have in my viewfinder.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Back view of a male Yellow-rumped Warbler's yellow rump, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-male-rump-mia-mcpherson-2289.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-male-rump-mia-mcpherson-2289.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Fall Yellow-rumped Warbler Photos From Arkansas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago, I was delighted to take my first Arkansas Yellow-rumped Warbler photos that I was happy with. The morning was cold, and the birds were busy.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fall Yellow-rumped Warbler on a birdbath, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-fall-mia-mcpherson-8839.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-fall-mia-mcpherson-8839.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-fall-mia-mcpherson-8839.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-fall-mia-mcpherson-8839.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-creek-mia-mcpherson-0598.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-creek-mia-mcpherson-0598.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-creek-mia-mcpherson-0598.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-creek-mia-mcpherson-0598.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48700,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/09\/28\/migrating-yellow-rumped-warblers\/","url_meta":{"origin":70201,"position":4},"title":"Migrating Yellow-rumped Warblers","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Yellow-rumped Warblers are seen in high numbers here in northern Utah during spring and fall migration, these birds are migrating south now.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Migrating Yellow-rumped Warbler, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-migration-mia-mcpherson-9674.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-migration-mia-mcpherson-9674.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/yellow-rumped-warbler-migration-mia-mcpherson-9674.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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