Tiny Birds in the Overcast

I love the challenge of photographing the tiny birds.  The past few days have been slightly cooler and overcast.  Most birds are staying hidden, but with a little patience, fun can be had looking for those tiny birds that hang around marshy, reedy areas.  A couple of my favorite birding areas feature that description.

Ann and I stopped at one of those sites, bringing some coffee and burritos along for comfort.  We parked a mere fifteen feet from the water and sat back to watch.  Within ten minutes we detected movement in the cattails.  We watched intently as a Common Yellowthroat started showing himself.  I grabbed my Canon EOS 7D MK II with a Tamron 150-600mm G2 zoom lens and got ready.  The reeds where he was moving around was about twenty feet from the bank.  This is one of the images captured.  Keep in mind, it is heavily cropped, as even with my long lens, I could never get this close.

Common Yellowthroat

A few minutes later I got glimpses of an Orange-crowned Warbler.  He would’t completely expose himself, so we played hide and seek.

Orange-crowned Warbler

After staying there for nearly an hour and seeing various wrens, cardinals, warblers etc., we moved to another location.  This spot was more brushy as it was farther from the water.  Again, with patience, after a few minutes we saw some action.  More Kinglets, Warblers starting to flit around.  One of two favorite prizes of that sitting was this very cooperative Blue-Gray Gnatcher.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

The other was this Verdin.  I had been on a quest to get a nice photo of one of these secretive birds but they had alluded me until now.  Check this out.

I know I have preached this before, but again, don’t let overcast weather keep you from your appointed birding rounds.  The light is fantastic.  No harsh shadows and the color is great.

In other news, my new coffee table book, “Birds, Beasts and Other Stuff” is available now.  110 pages of photos illustrating my photographic career. Hard cover. For a special “WordPress Reader discounted price of 60.00 plus tax and shipping, contact me at bobzeller.pobox.com.

Also you can order from the publisher at: https://www.blurb.com/b/9899713-birds-beasts-and-other-stuff

 

So, that is about it for this post.  I hope you enjoyed the photos and will consider purchasing the book.  You will not be disappointed.

‘Til then,

HAPPY BIRDING!!!