Dendroica coronata (s. auduboni), the Yellow-Rumped warbler, has arrived! Sibley's says they eat flying insects mostly, and I believe that's true. Although I have a very healthy grasshopper population, I don't think I've ever seen a Yellow-Rumped warbler hunting them. I believe this bird inhabits a hunting niche between 3' and 20' off the ground. This keeps it from competing with the Ash-Throated flycatcher (which actually eats mostly grasshoppers around here) and the Cassin's kingbird, which eats grasshoppers and does a lot of hawking but in open fields.
This bird is easy to identify because its coloration (yellow splashes on high-contrast silver and white), and the way it flits about are both unique and very enjoyable to watch. As you can see in this picture, it's truly a gorgeous bird. Because of how it moves, it's much better "live" than in a still picture. But that's probably true of any bird.
This is a male of the Audubon's subspecies. He may have arrived yesterday, 4/24/2011, but he might just as well have arrived this morning or a week ago. Every year they nest in the same place; just outside of my yard in a dense 40'x40' successional stand of mixed juniper, pinon and gambel oak, surrounded by a large open field. I can't be sure of the date, because I only see him when I sit down near the thicket for an hour or so, and today is the first time I've done that this year. According to the Natl Geographic text*, this bird arrives in late April. So if he arrived today he's right on schedule. I will check next year starting on 4/10 to get a more accurate arrival date, however.
This is a tough bird to photograph, at least for me. He's nervous and doesn't stay in one place for very long. In fact, he spends more time doing this than anything else:
But what makes it most difficult for me, is that I have to focus manually, because he likes to perch inside the confines of the thicket and that confuses the autofocus too often to make using it anything but a risky endeavor. He rarely hangs out at the edges except when in transit, and he never hangs out anywhere for long. This spring I resolve to set up a comfortable folding recliner, a gallon of ice tea, and sit out there until I get a good picture.
The top picture (blurry as it is) is the best picture I've ever taken of this bird, so I do feel encouraged.
* The Natl Geographic reference text: National Geographic Complete Birds of North America. For quick reference it's not quite as handy or small as Sibley's. But it has more in-depth information and is a needed complement to the Sibley's guide in my opinion.
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