Kentucky Warbler

A sudden flash of yellow appeared from the tall oak tree near my back porch.  It streaked across the yard and disappeared in the green leaves of the Cleveland pear tree.  My eyes held fast to the tree, waiting for the presumed bird to reappear.  Rarely do I see a yellow bird in my yard during summer so I was quite curious about this one.  With my camera and super zoom lens ready for action, I waited...and waited.  Several minutes passed with no sighting.

A bit later I returned to my usual bird watching spot on the back porch.  Several cardinals and blue jays were at the feeders and on the ground below.  I sat straight up when that flash of yellow again appeared from the green leaves of the pear tree.  I hurriedly snapped several shots of the small jewel while given the chance.  For only seconds, the little visitor curiously watched other birds at the feeders directly below,  It quickly twisted and turned on the branch as it glanced back and forth, up and down.  Then, it was gone.  Just like that.  

Anxious to find out what species of bird it was, I was soon on my computer doing an online search. It didn't take long to convince me that this is a Kentucky Warbler.  A check with one of my bird enthusiast friends confirmed my guess, and stated it appeared to be a female. A couple of defining characteristics of this warbler species is the definitive yellow eyebrow and dark sideburns.   

The Kentucky Warbler breeds from southern Iowa and eastern Kansas east to New Jersey, and south from eastern Texas to Georgia. It spends winters in the tropics from central Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula south. During migration, it may be recorded farther west. Preferred habitats include low, moist, rich woodlands with luxuriant undergrowth.

Maybe I'll get lucky and see a little more of her.  I'll be looking!

Common Yellowthroat

Good afternoon!  I hope you're all having a great Wednesday!  I have a few photos to share this week for Wild Bird Wednesday.  I took these shots of this cute little warbler while at Lake Martin, Louisiana last weekend.  He's a Common Yellowthroat, a small songbird that frequents wetlands and marshes in dense vegetation where they search for small insects and spiders.  

Adult males are bright yellow below, with a sharp black face mask and olive upperparts. A thin whitish line sets off the black mask from the head and neck. Immature males show traces of the full mask of adult males. Females are a plain olive brown, usually with yellow brightening the throat and under the tail. They lack the black mask. During migration, this is often the most common warbler found in fields and edges. It sometimes joins other warbler species in mixed foraging flocks.

Common Yellowthroats forage on or near the ground, eating insects and spiders from leaves, bark, branches, flowers, or fruit in low vegetation. Their diet includes bugs, flies, beetles, ants, termites, bees, wasps, grasshoppers, dragonflies, damselflies, moths, butterflies, caterpillars, and other larvae. Though they mostly glean their food while perched, they may sally out from a perch to catch prey. Like many birds, Common Yellowthroats also eat grit, which possibly helps them digest food or adds minerals to their diet.

Common Yellowthroats live in thick, tangled vegetation in a wide range of habitats—from wetlands to prairies to pine forests—across North America. Their breeding range stretches across most of the United States, the Canadian provinces, and western Mexico. Yellowthroats are most common in wet areas, which tend to have dense vegetation low to the ground, ideal for skulking and building hidden nests. But they are also found in dry upland pine forests, palmetto thickets, drainage ditches, hedgerows, orchards, fields, burned-over oak forests, shrub-covered hillsides, river edges, and disturbed sites. They winter in similar habitats with dense vegetation in the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.  (Information from the online site of Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds)

Linked with Stewart at Wild Bird Wednesday