Waiting for the Warblers

Call me lazy, but I like to pick a shady spot and just wait for the birds. This technique works best during migration, when it is impossible to know exactly where a warbler might appear. So, it makes sense for me not to waste the energy looking for them and just let them come to me. Actually there is a rationale for this approach, as birds evolved to notice and react to every little movement in sight. If you stay in one spot they tend to settle down in a few minutes and go about business as usual.

This is exactly what I did this fall. After getting my aerobic walk into the wetlands I dropped behind Mary Lou and headed down along the levee that borders the "wild side" of the canal across from our subdivision. One cloudless morning the sky was bright about 15 minutes before sunrise. At first, only the mockingbirds and catbirds were active.

A Gray Catbird flew in and roosted on a small dead tree only about 20 feet in front of me:

 

Within minutes the first warbler showed up, a female Common Yellowthroat...



...followed by a feisty sub-adult male yellowthroat:



Slight movement in the bushes revealed a Black-throated Blue Warbler, which then stepped out into the first morning rays:



A female American Redstart (we call the females "yellowstarts") was very hard to follow as it scurried erratically between the branches, stopping, starting and changing direction every second:



The redstart's color seemed to change when I processed the photos for "warm" shade or "cool" sunlight:



A male redstart, wet either from a bath or showered by the morning dew that coated the leaves, flared its colorful tail as it foraged in the branches:





I caught a brief glimps (and only one photo) of a Yellow-throated Warbler:



A Palm Warbler captured a juicy dragonfly...



...and paused to enjoy the repast:



A Prairie Warbler looked like a little stuffed toy:


Northern Waterthrushes joined the other warbler species in the understory:



Another  streaked warbler species, the Ovenbird, foraged on the ground:



The Ovenbird was aware of my presence and periodically craned its neck to watch me...



...before returning to its task of turning over every leaf in sight:



A small flock of Magnolia Warblers passed by:



The Magnolias preferred to glean the topmost branches of a Live Oak:



Black-and-White Warblers searched for spiders in the bark crevices:



Black-throated Green Warblers were a "first" at our birding patch:







Northern Parulas have quiet ways and a subtle beauty:







Fall migration is not only about warblers, but I'll save the rest of the story for another post.

For this week's REFLECTION we saw a patch of mangroves reflecting in the bay at Fort Lauderdale:



Our front gate before sunrise provides a  SKY and a FENCE (or at least the beginning of one!) with the crescent Moon and, above it, Venus still visible:



On the opposite horizon, a "false sunrise" brightens the pre-dawn sky over the Everglades. The rays of the sun, broken by clouds over the Atlantic Ocean and converging to the west, reflect off moisture and dust in the cloudless atmosphere:



Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to I Heart Macro by Laura

________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

________________________________________________