Prothonotary Warbler, Mississippi River, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa ------
Another great day here in the Mississippi Valley today. Joan and I took again the kayaks out for a trip on the water. This time we paddled deep into the backwaters of the Green Island Wetlands. We had it all for ourselves and except for the occasional honking of a train far away it was all about listening to the sounds of nature. My excitement grew rapidly when Joan pointed out a small yellow bird on a log in the water. I have only seen and photographed a Prothonotary Warbler once before and that was several years ago.
As always, shooting with the long lens from a kayak, while the kayak is moving, is quite a challenge and the number of misses is of course much higher. The only reason I show the second image here in the blog is for identification. It shows the colors of back, wings, and tail better. The head and eye of the warbler are clearly out of focus and usually a picture like this has only one valid place, the digital trash can. Well, sometimes we need an exception from the rule…😉