In yesterday’s blog post I mentioned that I had another story for you. Yes, it was bird photography fun at its best Saturday afternoon and today I went again to the Deere Marsh, the wetlands behind the John Deere factory north of Dubuque. The Yellow-rumped Warblers migrate right now through the Mississippi Valley and they obviously like the supply of insects that came with the warm weather we have here since the last couple days and stay a little bit longer. The warblers use the trees and shrubs along the shore beside Riverside Road to perch and to catch their prey, almost in a flycatcher manner, There is also a lot of display going on. The males try to impress the females and the coloration of their feathers doesn’t get any better than this time of the year.
The Yellow-rumped Warbler is one of the most common Warblers in North America and because of their ability to digest wax-coated berries, like bayberries, they are capable of wintering farther north than any other warbler (source: iBirdPro App).
At this location having a good background is not a big problem. You either have water or the sky as your background and even if you, like me, don’t have the fastest lens in your arsenal, you can still render a background without clutter. The second image shows where the challenge lies. Getting a clean, unobstructed shot is not always easy. Lots of branches and wild growing vines can be in the way or just cast a shadow on the bird. I tried to make this a part of the story telling…