Nature clicks #245 - Hermit Thrush, first sighting!

 

I like to interrupt my series about Colorado for the report of a first sighting that I had in our woods here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River. I aimed at some American Robins and Cedar Waxwings that came to our bird bath in the front yard this afternoon when I saw this bird foraging on the ground between the leaves. First I thought it was a Fox Sparrow, which we have seen here before, but after reviewing my photos on screen I found out that it was indeed a Hermit Thrush. The bird is obviously on its way to the southern states were it will spend the winter.

The Hermit Thrush wasn’t the only migrating bird that came through here today. Fifteen minutes earlier a Yellow-rumped Warbler landed on a branch right in front of me but I didn’t nail the shot. We live here now since almost ten years and it is amazing to me that we can still add another species to the list of birds we have seen here.

Nature clicks #220 - Orchard Oriole

 

I like to interrupt my series about the warblers for another first sighting we had a few days ago at our house. For the first time we had an appearance of two Orchard Orioles. The birds showed up several times at one of our hummingbird feeders, which also has been used frequently by the many Baltimore Orioles we are lucky to see every year in May. To brake the jinx I made of course a few clicks while they were at the feeder but the goal for me is always to get a shot without it in a situation like this. I used the brief moment when the orioles landed and held on to the grape vines that grow on our balcony. They just hesitate a little before they hop onto the hummingbird feeder, to make probably sure everything is safe, but it is enough time to make the click.  I can tell you, we had three amazing weeks with the birds in May 2014 so far and I haven’t even been able to show you all of it yet… ;-)

Nature clicks #219 - Orange-crowned Warbler

 

When I have a first sighting of an animal I try to make my research about the species with several sources to make sure the critter is correctly identified. Sometimes the photo doesn’t reveal all the distinguishing marks and some doubt is left. It took me a while to draw a conclusion about the Orange-crowned Warbler but now I believe that’s what it is. Many warblers have a variety of color patterns and females and immature birds can look totally different than the male adults.

The photo was made right after a rain shower under low light conditions and revealing the colors required fill flash again. The Orange-crowned Warbler has its breeding grounds in the western part of the US and almost all Canada. The Mississippi Valley is an important migration route for the northern subspecies and so it is no surprise that we have seen it here last week.

Nature clicks #218 - Blackpoll Warbler

 

I’m glad and thankful that you came back to my blog even if I have almost nothing posted but photos and stories about warblers recently. It was an exciting week with many sightings during their migration to the breeding grounds up north or just because of their arrival, since some will stay here in Eastern Iowa during the summer.

The Blackpoll Warbler was another first sighting for us. We saw males and females feeding on little insects for three days. The two shots of a male are pretty much what I saw, with just a slight cosmetic crop. The female image is a long stretch. It is not tack sharp and I had to crop a little more because I couldn’t get close enough. My blog is not just a portfolio platform for the best of my photography, it is also about sharing biological facts or giving hints about wildlife locations. This is why you have sometimes to put up with a shot that is not so great, but still tells a story within the story. This is what the photo of the female Blackpoll Warbler is about today…