Sunday, April 12, 2009

Do I hear an Echo??

I saw a lot of neat birds today and took some halfway decent photos, but I had to dedicate an entire post to this absolutely adorable little bird I saw for the first time today. Allow me to introduce you to this curious little Pine Warbler (LIFER!). I have been trying to catch a glimpse of this bird for over a week now. It was not being cooperative so my birding pal pulled out the big guns which was this IPod you see in the picture above. He played the song of the Pine Warbler and we could hear the true Warbler respond in return.


What happened next was too good to be true from a photographers and birders perspective. Out he came in full view trying to figure out who the invader was on his territory. He flew around from limb to limb in search of the bird. Finally he landed right near the IPod for closer inspection. It was so funny that I had to hold in my laughter in fear I would scare it away. I couldn't hold it much longer as I snorted and then out came the giggles. I startled the birder but not the bird as he was too determined to figure out why the bird looked so funny.

Look at him posing for the camera!! He is so cute I could gaze at him for hours.

Here he is perched on the grass looking toward the IPod.


Side view to show off those fantastic wing bars of his.


Looking up toward the sky to see if the competitor is up there.



These next two photos are almost identical but I had to post both because I couldn't make up my mind which one I preferred the most. HA!


Side angle again. I could take 200 photos of this bird and not tire of him.



One last pose below.

Sigh, wasn't that fantastic!!! This is my new favorite little bird for the month of April. I have a funny feeling I am going to be out a lot in May searching for other warblers because I have been bitten by the Warbler Flu and the only cure will be more. According to my Peterson Guide, there are a lot more to see. I only hope I am lucky enough to find some like this one who is a ham (pun indented) for the camera.








31 comments:

Anonymous said...

These might be your sweetest photos yet Kim. We have a lot of these birds in GA. I certainly could never get a good photo though. It's interesting to see the details on his wings up close in your photo. He looks like he wants to say, "come out, come out wherever you are!"

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Congrats on the lifer! He'd be a lifer for me too. What a gorgeous little thing.
Come on warblers!!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Oh what an adorable little bird, Kim. It's no wonder you had to dedicate the post to him...

This afternoon, I heard some singing going on above my head. I looked up and there was a bright yellow Goldfinch singing to the top of his lungs. I watched him for the longest time. Don't know if he impressed his lady--but he sure did impress me!!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

Helen said...

Very pretty bird. You got some cute pictures of him. Makes me thing of the American Goldfinch.
Good idea using the ipod to record birds sounds on. Helen

Ali said...

Awww, that is awesome, love how the ipod worked out! Wonderful photos! I wish we could get a cutie like him around here

Anonymous said...

YOU INSPIRED ME TO GO OUTSIDE WITH MY CAMERA TODAY. I COULD NOT GET ANY PICTURES, BUT I SAW A HUGE HAWK AND AN OWL IN THE WOODS BY THE CREEK! WE HAD OUR FIRST HUMMINGBIRDS COME TO OUR FEEDERS TOO. I JUST HAD TO STOP TO TELL YOU!!!

Chuck Dilmore said...

Oh, fantastic post!

Loved the photographs!
Loved your text!
And loved your ingenuity!

Great job!
peace,
Chuck

A Scattering said...

He's adorable! Great photos. Of the two that you said are so much alike, I prefer the first by a slight edge. Congratulations on another Lifer.

Dawn Fine said...

Kim,
Congrats on the Pine warbler. Warblers are my fav birdies. I am sending a few up your way right now..
Look for the ones with the red ribbons!

ShySongbird said...

What a very pretty little bird and such lovely photos, but what a puzzled look on its face!

Chad said...

Nice picture of the Pine Warbler... awesome! You changed your site name! I like the header - good design!

Rick (Ratty) said...

Great one! I like the yellow. I saw a yellow bird once, but didn't know what it was. I never thought of tricking them with a recording. The last picture is my favorite, because the little bird looks so happy.

Ginnymo said...

Awww! What a cute little bird. That was funny the way you got him to come out... I've never seen one of those either. Great photos Kim!!

Shelley said...

he is just a handsome sweetie!! Congrats to you! Love the Ipod idea!!

Kelly said...

...what a fabulous series of photos! That must have been wonderful to watch him so closely!! I think it would have been hard for me to suppress a laugh too!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on a new lifer! Nice to see a colorful warbler, most are plain old brown over here. Lovely sequence of images.

roentare said...

This robin is so cute! Agile and adorable!

Jayne said...

How funny! I love the little Pine Warblers we have around here.

Tina said...

Kim, How nice! He is beautiful and you sure caught his image from some great angles!! I love the one where he is sitting in the tree with the blue of the sky showing thru..
He would be a lifer for me too!!

Allison said...

What a beautiful little bird. We saw two new birds on Easter Sunday--quite the gift! A Chipping Sparrow and a House Finch. I just love these little gifts that nature gives us!

Unknown said...

We did much the same to encourage the appearance of the lovely prothonotary warbler last May while in promising habitat along the upper Mississippi - worked like a charm. We didn't leave the CD running too long - didn't want to overly agitate the little guy. Congrats on your lifer.

Mary said...

Beautiful photos of a very cute bird! What a sneaky way to see them up close. Will have to remember that trick.

NCmountainwoman said...

Beautiful shots of this marvelous little bird. We have several Pine Warblers, one of which is so yellow he doesn't look real.

mon@rch said...

Bravo work . . . these Pine Warblers are such cute little birdies! :)

Anonymous said...

Pine Warblers. Blue Birds. I have neither here and never saw any of them here. It makes me wonder where the birds go that don't stop here and I guess now I know. I have never seen a pine warbler. It is a nice looking yellow bird. I do have a lot of gold finches now and the males are putting on some really bright yellow suits. It is an amazing transformation.

Anonymous said...

Kim I love your blog and have been reading it and I have gone to see the woodpeckers but have not seen them yet - but I wanted to tell you to check
palemale.com and go back to the beginning - you will love the website - I am sure of it.

Kim said...

Thank you anonymous for introducing yourself. I have not had luck seeing the Pileated the past week or so either but I heard from another birder that they are still there.

Thank you so much for the Palemale site link. I saw that about two months ago but forgot what the address was. I have bookmarked it so I can follow it going forward. I am telling you those are some of the best photos I have ever seen. The hawk pictures are outstanding! One of these days maybe!! HA, I can't afford all of that fancy equipment though so I will get my fix through them. Thanks for the link.

Larry said...

Congratulations on the lifer! Great photos of the little warbler that managed to elude my camera this weekend.

Anonymous said...

Nice series!

Leedra said...

The last 4 photos were the best, but you probably already knew that.

Leedra’s Photos For FunLeedra’s Greeting CardsPhotography By Leedra

Dorothy said...

I love this cute little bird, too. Your blog is very interesting. I will be back to visit. Thanks so much for helping me ID by Blue Grosbeak!

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