Sunday, November 15, 2009

Yellow-throated Warbler

One thing I love about birding, is you never know what might show up during the tail end of migration.
For instance, this male Yellow-throated Warbler, which spends its winter at the Gulf Coast states of South America, has somehow taken a wrong turn and ended up in a backyard at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan last week.
There are two subspecies of this warbler, and the one furthest south, from the Gulf Coast, has Yellow lores while the other one has white lores ( the coloured markings next to its bill ).
Well, it looks like the one we have in Moose Jaw right now is even rarer as it's the most southern sub-species.
Yesterday I was privileged to see this bird, and got one lucky shot of it on a natural perch at the front of the property before it vanished.
I have other photos of the bird at a feeder, but thought this one was the prettiest.

(click for full size)

10 comments:

Tina said...

How lucky to capture a great photo of this little guy!! He sure is pretty..so glad you got to see him.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

A beautiful bird.To be able to get pictures of it must be very special to you.
Blessings,Ruth

Kelly said...

...he is gorgeous. I wonder what happened to his internal GPS!

Chris said...

Lucky you nick to get this one nice shot of this rare bird!! And it is a wonderful shot, with a nice background and a beautiful attitude... Somehow, I never manage to get a nice shot of a rare bird... Last time, I saw a yellow warbler but was unable to capture it and it has only been seen four times in Iceland... I guess I will have to wait for number 5 ;-)

holdingmoments said...

Lovely shot Nick, and a rarity too; even better mate. Well done.

Chris said...

I have a surprise on my blog for you.. Check it out mate!

Dawn Fine said...

Gorgeous shot..lucky you.

Chris Petrak said...

I say, he is very off-course, but it gave you a great photo - likewise the pileated, probably not off course, but a good photo for sure.

FAB said...

Hi Nick. It would seem that lots of small birds are getting tossed about by the severve weather patterns on both sides of the 'pond'. Excellent capture of this rarity. FAB

Nick S said...

Thanks for looking friends