2022—Yellow It Is!

For me, the bird that first comes to mind when I think of Magee Marsh is always one of my favorites, the Yellow Warbler. So far this visit, the Yellow Warbler is again at the top of my list. This colorful and very vocal warbler is easy to see despite its tiny size and it has a loud voice that is readily distinguishable from other birds in the refuge. They come tantalizingly close to us, singing from the tops of the Boxelders that line the boardwalk so they are often just a few feet directly over our heads. However, their proximity does not make it easy to photograph them. Quite the contrary. Much of the time they are close is when they are at the top of the tree branches. But the bright gray sky backlights them and makes the bird a dark silhouette. Consequently, instead of trying to get a photograph, we watch and appreciate the show taking notice where they fly when they leave the tree tops, and hoping they alight in a place where they’re not backlit and where there is some green in the background. The other big reason they are difficult to photograph is they are so very fast. They do not perch for long in any one place as they search the twigs, leaves, and bark for insects constantly moving up and down twigs and branches and over and under leaves and in and out of thickets. I seem to have many more shots of empty branches where they just left than I have shots like this male. But trying to get the shot is fun and challenging and the time flies by. I love Yellow Warblers.