Avian Explorer » warbler

Deseret Ranch and Yellow Warblers

Elizabeth — Mon, 31 May 2010 04:11:44 +0000

The last day of the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival, Jon and I went on a 6am to 6pm birding trip of Deseret Ranch. This ranch is enormous. We took a bus that drove 200 miles on the ranch. It was amazing, I saw antelope, a moose, jackrabbits and a badger. For lunch we stopped at the center of the ranch where there was a very bird-active pond.

One of the birds flying around is called the Yellow Warbler.

As you may recall, there are a lot of warblers in the world. Here is an old picture that I have of a Wilson’s Warbler in California. I was waiting to post a better shot, but who knows if I’ll see one in Utah.

Back to the Yellow Warbler. The males have reddish streaking on their front, which you can almost see here.

They make little tittering noises, but you’re most likely to find one because of the bright feathers.

It’s a very busy birding season right now because the birds are all working so hard making nests and eating in preparation for raising babies. I’ll be on the lookout for more warblers.

Townsend’s Warbler

Elizabeth — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:23:00 +0000

Northern California have tons of warblers. So far I have seen Wilson’s Warblers, Yellow-Rumped Warblers, and Townsend’s Warblers. The Townsend’s Warblers are distinguishable by their raccoon eyes.

These guys are very shy. I saw them several times before I could ever capture a picture. The picture above was the only picture that I captured for six months. Last week, one stayed still long enough for me to capture more than one picture!

The males have a black throat.

They like to hang out in conifers and use moss to line their nests.

I like their quick and careful movements.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Elizabeth — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:31:00 +0000

Yesterday we headed down to Pescadero, CA to visit the Ano Nuevo State Reserve. We passed a marsh where the fog was doing really neat things over the water.

I really love living along the coast because of the frequent fog.

After the detour we reached the reserve. Ano Nueovo State Reserve is very popular. People at work asked me if I had visited and I didn’t really understand because I’ve been up and down the coast from San Francisco to Monterey. So what’s the big deal?

Well, there are the sea lions, which swell to a population of 3,000 in the winter months.

And the pond is pretty nice.

Plus there are TONS of lizards.

But for me the jackpot is this!

Because where there is brush, there are birds! I saw three new lifers yesterday: a savannah sparrow, a gold-crowned sparrow, and a yellow-rumped warbler. Below is the yellow-rumped warbler.

Okay, I see some yellow and she has a lovely eye ring.

But what’s this about a yellow rump or, as Birdchick likes to call them, butterbuts?

What a great butt! These pictures are of the female. The male is blue-grey on the back and more yellow on the front. This place is such a great find, I’ll be sure to go back soon and stay in the brush all day.