During the fall while out enjoying some time as the leaves were turning I would watch the birds hopping and flying around noticing all the different types passing through as they made their way south for the winter. Many I recognized while some I didn’t but it was still interesting to see them. One I frequently came across was the yellow rumped warbler. At first I was a little uncertain as to what it was because the colors seemed quite faded from those I’d seen during the spring migration north. These seemed to spend several weeks in the area before finally departing for the winter. During one of the sessions out I saw a few birds jumping from lily pad to lily pad. Unsure of what it was I focused with the camera and in the bright sunlight I could make out the distinctive yellow patches in order to identify these birds. Surprisingly they turned out to be more yellow rumped warblers. It was fun to watch as they moved from jumped between lily pads in search of food.
On another day at a different park I came across a yellow warbler. At least that’s what I believe it is. It was quickly moving between branches among some dense shrubs but did fly out and land briefly in a small tree for me to get a picture before this bird returned into the shrubs where I could not photograph it any more.
A couple of weeks later I ventured into another park and came across these birds which I’m unable to figure out what they are. Most of the time they were hopping around on the ground occasionally venturing into nearby grasses. At first I thought they were fairly common sparrows but looking closer I noticed yellow patches just above some of the birds eyes which made me question which type of bird this actually is.
During this same visit I noticed a small flock of birds fluttering in some tall evergreens moving from one tree to another working in all kinds of positions in search of food. There was definitely a bright stripe on the top of their head indicating they were kinglets but they didn’t look like the ruby crowned kinglets I’ve seen before. After looking at the pictures and researching a little I ID’d them as golden crowned kinglets. Fun to watch they aerobatics up and down trees.
Earlier in the fall I came across these tiny birds flying in between shrubs stopping from time to time long enough to get a good look. At first I only saw females and only had their size and the patterns on their wings to try to identify them from but eventually came across males that displayed their ruby crowns giving me a positive ID. I was amazed how they can hide their bright red stripe on the top of their head and flash it at will again. Fun little birds to watch.
