ADHD warblers!

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Well, warblers have always presented a special challenge for me and I find that this holds true for photographing these cute little guys. The problem? They move like . . . well, like warblers. I mean they all seem to have ADHD! Add to this the difficulty that the camera's automatic focus has when you point it into a bunch of tree branches and boy, they are a challenge.

Thankfully. That's what makes getting a decent picture satisfying. I chased this little guy around for about fifteen minutes yesterday. By the time I got him in focus on one branch he would be on another. What is he? I don't claim great ID skills, but as near as I can determine, this is a pine warbler - and a male. What you can't see in this picture is the two white wing bars and the behavior - he seemed to be catching insects and staying in the mid-level branches. (One warbler ID key is whether they are on the ground, at mid-level, or in the tree tops. The pine can be in any of these places, but more often then not is at mid-level, or so my books say.)

Of course people who have good hearing and know bird songs would have identified him right away without seeing him! I rely on sight - though I also need to remember to wear my hearing aids. I may yet get to identify some of these cute little guys by ear!

Meanwhile, I'm finding that visual clues are very dependent on multiple views, even with the camera. For example, in the view below the relatively faint breast streaking is mor evisible than in the view above, though the white belly and tail aren't as obvious.

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Posted by Greg Stone at April 13, 2004 04:59 AM