Wilson’s Warbler

With the weather suddenly taking a turn for the worse, it’s beginning to look like the short trip I took Monday while getting Skye’s medicine is going to be be the only day I manage to get any photos this week, though I’m certainly not adverse to getting out another day if the weather happens to change again.

Still, my trip to Waughop lake in Steilacoom turned out to be rather surprising, as I’m accustomed to seeing lots of ducks there, as evidenced by all my previous photo trips. However, I didn’t get a single duck picture Monday.

Luckily, there were a number of trees in bloom:

blossoms

and there seemed to be more songbirds than ever before. I managed another first when I captured this shot of a Wilson’s Warbler,

Wilson's Warbler

identified by the black cap on its head.

I also saw a considerable number of Yellow-Rumped Warblers, and a few species I couldn’t get a clear enough shot of to identify. I’m beginning to suspect that warblers migrate in mixed flocks, though I won’t offer that observation with any certainty. All I can say with certainty is that I’m beginning to realize how much I have to learn about birds.

The highlight of the day was the sighting of this Red-Breasted Sapsucker

Red-Breasted Sapsucker

who obviously felt safe enough in a tree surrounded by six-foot-tall blackberry bushes to spend nearly fifteen minutes in one spot while several people walked by. Although I’ve managed to get much closer to the ones at Belfair in previous years, I’ve never managed to see one in such bright sunlight before.

6 thoughts on “Wilson’s Warbler”

  1. Is this invisible on your computer too, or is it just my version of Safari that can’t see it?

  2. I like the combination of colors in these three photos. Am especially enjoying your photos of trees in bloom this year.

    Funny how things go. Until you photographed a Yellow-Rumped Warbler, I hadn’t consciously seen one or even heard of them. Now, coincidentally, a friend from California has sent me a notecard with a hand-colored engraving by John James Audubon of three Yellow-Rumped Warblers.

  3. The reason for the missing ducks: Sat/Sun at Lake Waughop they dedicated the lake to field trials for bird dogs who romped and fetched for hours. Not conducive to peace of mind among widgeons.

  4. Thanks, Mike.

    That makes better sense now. I hope the baby Wooducks weren’t too traumatized by that event.

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