Yellow Warbler quickness

[Rick A. Phillips]

While we are waiting on the theme announcement for UWOL Challenger #3 you might be entertained by this quick clip. The New World Wood Warblers (Parulidae - last time I checked) are a bunch of tiny, super-energetic, fast moving birds which will drive you crazy if you are trying to get frame-filling footage of a foraging bird in the tops of the trees. I spent around 45 minutes a couple of days ago trying to get a clip of a Yellow Warbler foraging in some trees in our yard. I post this not for the quality of the video (which isn't much) but more for you to get a feel for how these little birds move. Here is a very short fragment to view. Pay particular attention to the bird leaving (if you can even see it).

Rick

[Mark Williams]

Rick,

Nice clip and you are right that was a fast take off. I have seen yellow warblers on a few occasions in the Georgia mountains which I think is the southern range of thier breedings grounds. The ones I have seen had very bright yellow plumage making them easy to identify.

[Brendan Marnell]

Typical warbler behaviour Rick, They seem to have evolved to fidget like the midgets they mainly feed on. Entertaining snippet and very hard to get.

[Rick A. Phillips]

Originally Posted by Mark Williams

Rick,

Nice clip and you are right that was a fast take off. I have seen yellow warblers on a few occasions in the Georgia mountains which I think is the southern range of thier breedings grounds. The ones I have seen had very bright yellow plumage making them easy to identify.

Mark,

I used to live in Clemson, SC, near the GA mountains. I drove each week during the spring and summer thru Clayton and Dillard and on up to Franklin, NC. From there I spent the entire week surveying birds all along the Blue Ridge Mtns. of NC from Asheville down to Murphy. I spent thousands of hours listening to birds and watching their behavior as I conducted research for the U. S. Forest Service Research Station out of Clemson University. I can't tell you how many times I've stood with glowing Hooded Warblers singing on a perch a few feet from my face. And...the whole time without any kind of camcorder or even an old film camera. What I wouldn't give to be back down there with an XL2 or something even better! North Georgia and western North Carolina are two of my favorite places on earth.

Now that our warblers are back from their southern winter homes...I'm going to make a real effort to get out in the mountains and see if I can get some good shots (good for my equipment anyway).

Rick

[Mark Williams]

Rick,

Good to hear about your birding experiences. Now come back and get them on video!