Worm-eating Warbler
Georgia. This week this species has been arriving and its song has been added to the growing chorus of new arrivals! P1ne Warbler and Ch1pping Sparr0w have similar songs and every year I get better at telling their songs apart but they still can confuse one at times especially when awaiting the season's first WEWA!. All three of those species can be found breeding in the same general area here.
This was a fun set-up with the flowers growing on top of a small knoll. Not all WEWA are so cooperative but this guy was relatively easy to place where I wanted so I did a couple completely different set-ups. Still there was a time to walk away and leave the bird. He was still singing the same place 2 days later when I drove by. For this one I simply placed the perch on the knoll, cleaned up the background and positioned the speaker where I felt best. The other important intangible is how and when you use calls to place the bird. That is where many go wrong and overuse them or improperly use them. The use of calls is both science and art and poorly understood by many. I didn't know what I was doing when I first started years ago. It is much more complex than simply playing a song especially when endeavoring to do photography with set-ups. Every species requires a different strategy based on the bird's tendencies and habits. Just having the right camera gear and knowing how to use that gear is not enough when using set-ups for warblers in the field.
Worm-eating Warbler
Georgia. This week this species has been arriving and its song has been added to the growing chorus of new arrivals! P1ne Warbler and Ch1pping Sparr0w have similar songs and every year I get better at telling their songs apart but they still can confuse one at times especially when awaiting the season's first WEWA!. All three of those species can be found breeding in the same general area here.
This was a fun set-up with the flowers growing on top of a small knoll. Not all WEWA are so cooperative but this guy was relatively easy to place where I wanted so I did a couple completely different set-ups. Still there was a time to walk away and leave the bird. He was still singing the same place 2 days later when I drove by. For this one I simply placed the perch on the knoll, cleaned up the background and positioned the speaker where I felt best. The other important intangible is how and when you use calls to place the bird. That is where many go wrong and overuse them or improperly use them. The use of calls is both science and art and poorly understood by many. I didn't know what I was doing when I first started years ago. It is much more complex than simply playing a song especially when endeavoring to do photography with set-ups. Every species requires a different strategy based on the bird's tendencies and habits. Just having the right camera gear and knowing how to use that gear is not enough when using set-ups for warblers in the field.