Yellow-throated Warbler

Admittedly, I have some favorite birds among the locals we see out in the Wounded Wetlands. This one is a rather dull monochrome black and white nymph, save for a bright yellow throat which it seems so happy to display. 

It is a true "southerner" among the warblers, breeding throughout  much of the southeastern US but mostly farther north of us on the Florida peninsula. Many spend their winters here in south Florida. It is in the process of invading the more northern States. I even photographed some which were breeding near our (then) second home in northeastern Illinois. 

The Yellow-throated Warbler loves to forage high in the trees, often creeping along gleaning insects among the leaves. :



These elusive habits frustrate my photographic preferences. I encountered one on November 29. I had fleeting views







On December 8, at another location, I was surprised when one of two which were foraging in a Live Oak posed out in the open for a few seconds, enough for burst of photos. The next four were among about a  dozen which I took during a two-second interval:









It showed itself on a higher branch:





They are rather solitary, sometimes appearing in pairs, but I have never encountered them in flocks. They seem disposed to flash their golden throat patches:



This is my first photograph of the species, back on March 1, 2010. It was in a palm tree:



In our our south Florida neighborhood they often glean insects among the flowers and fruit of the many Royal Palms, so high up that the birds are difficult to spot:



Royal Palms carry clumps of both male and female flowers (the latter are to the left) in the same tree, along with ripening nut-like fruit. 



The wispy male flowers attract many insects. Pollen sometimes covers the ground beneath a Royal Palm, "Florida snow:"



Here is MaryLou walking out in front of me with her flashlight just before 6:00 AM on December 11, nearly an hour before sunrise. I took this photo with my new iPhone 11 Pro Max. The gravel road is lined with Royal Palms and the Full Cold Moon was setting in front of us. It was almost pitch dark save for the waning moonlight. Remarkably, the low-light resolution of this camera even captured the stars in the sky (click on image for enlarged view):



Here is an iPhone photo of the pine bank in the lake at 6:47 AM that morning, looking westward about five minutes before sunrise:




= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
_______________________________________________

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

________________________________________________