View allAll Photos Tagged FallMigration
Photographed 19 November 2023, Westborough Wildlife Management Area, Westborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts
In fall season Blue-winged warblers look much as they do in spring but their beaks are lighter in color in the fall. Blue-winged warblers are difficult to age and sex with the brightest birds being adult males and the dullest first fall females. I think the most reliable way to sex/age this species in any season is to look at the crown and how much contrast its color has with the olive on the back. The biggest contrast between these areas is found in the adult male which is the lower bird in this composite. The least amount of contrast between these areas is found in the first fall female which is on the upper right. Look how olive her crown is being essentially the same color as her back and she has just a very narrow brighter yellow strip on the forehead that wraps around above the eye. Intermediate between these two is the fall adult female/first fall male which appear similar and is represented by the bird on the upper left. The black eye-line is another field mark to look at when attempting to age/sex this species but due to lighting it is a more difficult field mark to go by. In summary the black eye-line would be darkest in the adult male and lightest in the first fall female. Wing bars are not very reliable when trying to age/sex this species but first fall females tend to have much scantier wingbars. There is a lot of variablity in wing bar prominence otherwise in this species. So it is my opinion that one should look at the crown and how it contrasts with the olive back when attempting to age/sex this species.
All three images used in this composite were taken in the Georgia mountains. The first fall female is from fall 2019 and the other two from this fall migration.
Also of note is how pale yellow the first fall female is compared to the other plumages of this species. Finally many first fall warblers have more tapered and pointed tail feathers than adult birds which is sometimes captured on images but near impossible to see in the field.
better late than never I guess. Happy Fence Friday. This beautiful little Common Yellowthroat hiding in the shade. Thankful I didn't miss ALL of the fall migration! One of my favorites of God's little yellow birds ...
PS: October 21, 2023: Moved this up for a revisit as this is my original title of the shot and it is one of my favorite groups themes for today. Great minds.
Quite a few flocks of geese on the move last week as well as a number of Tundra Swans. Odd there was no juveniles in this group, their black bills really stand out.
I think this one is a Palm Warbler. Another one through that double pane hurricane door. Aarrgghhh ... I cannot do that anymore. I just didn't remember what it does to my photos. I've been sick for so long ...
In our garden.
This is a late migrant and is still staying in our garden ,feeding on the Salvias.
We will leave our feeder up until they leave. This bird is very fat, preparing for the 18-22 hour flight over the Gulf of Mexico to arrive at it's wintering grounds.
In the Fall it is a more of a challenge than in the Spring to do more with small bird compositions than 'a bird on a stick'. I like this one on the white oak which has a bit of fall colors to help complement the orange in the crown crest.
Waterfowl migration is heading toward peak and we plan to head out to some of our favorite wetlands to check it out next week. With luck, this is one of the species we'll observe and photograph.
This fall composite shows at top an adult male and at the bottom a first fall female. Compared to the spring adult male the fall male has olive feathering in the otherwise blue head and face and the colorful chest necklace is somewhat veiled with yellow feathers. Also the lores (area in front of the eye near the beak) is no longer black as it is in the spring adult male. A first fall male would have a lot more olive in the head and face and also would have flight feathers edged with olive, rather than the blue seen here. The first fall female has very little contrast along the back compared to other plumages and also has olive in the wing bars. Also the only color in the chest is yellow.
Georgia Mountains.
With a black eye line instead of a solid black cheek along with well defined black side streaking and no buff this plumage is consistent with a first fall male. Adult fall males would have a much fuller and well defined black cheek patch and females would generally have less well defined black side streaking with some buff in that area. First fall females may also have buff in the face.
Photographed 19 November 2023, Westborough Wildlife Management Area, Westborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts
A little lower and a little closer... yesterday I was talking about the advantages of getting down low and dirty. Of critical importance is the question, "How do our subjects see us?" By dropping down to my belly and crawling - or slithering - I further reduce my human outline. I look smaller to them, and consequently less threatening.
It's all a matter of degree, but in general the closer to eye level, the better. I can't express the frustration I feel when a great subject shows up and I find myself shooting down an embankment, unable to get low. I might end up with a record shot, but for the most part those photos aren't worth taking.
Every situation is different, of course, and there are exceptions to every so-called rule. This shot is a little lower and a little closer than yesterday's. That doesn't necessarily make it better, but I do like it: both the moment and the POV.
Photographed off a grid road in Masefield, an unincorporated community near the village of Val Marie, Saskatchewan. According to the 2006 census, Masefield has a population of 0 in 0 dwellings, a 0% increase from 2001. I don't think this is quite accurate. Some folks just won't fill out their census form.
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Georgia. Kennesaw Mountain. This is an early migrant and seen on August 10. This species doesn't breed at this location.
This is a first fall bird as evidenced by the white eye arcs. It is probably a female as it is rather pale in the flanks and the moustachial strip is more brownish than black. However many of this species' first fall birds appear in the intermediate range and probably can only be sexed for certain at the extremes.
Wir waren auf "Kranichjagd" im Diepholzer Moor und konnten viele dieser wunderschönen Vögel beobachten, wenn auch nur aus weiter Ferne, da sie wirklich extrem scheu sind. An einem Morgen hatten wir dichten Nebel - bei schlechter Sicht waren die Vögel des Glücks etwas entspannter und uns gelangen tolle Nebelfotos.
We went "crane hunting" and were able to observe many of these beautiful birds, albeit only from a far distance as they are extremely shy. One morning we had thick fog with poor visibility and the birds were a bit more relaxed. So we managed to get some great foggy photos.
A Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) perched in a dead aspen along a country road south of Beaverhill Lake, Alberta, Canada.
29 September, 2025.
Slide # SWHA - 20250929_4102.jpg
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Georgia Mountains. It has been a great fall migration for me for this species. Probably the best I've had for this species. I got nice views of 13 different individuals and photographed 10 of them.
This adult fall female is in relatively good light and shows the contrasting olives and turquoise above and even a touch of cerlulean blue on the dorsal tail. Also she demonstrates some lemon yellow wash below which all fall Cerulean plumages except the adult male exhibit. First fall females are much less contrasty above showing a much more uniform olive and generally have much richer lemon yellow on the whiter areas of plumage excepting the under tail area.
This fella was exploring a few protruding rocks, and actually finding some stuff to feed on on them.
Woodcock Creek, Crawford County, PA. We've had a bumper crop this year on fruit trees and bushes. The birds have been feasting. Thanks for looking and any comments or feedback.
A bird of forest streams, the Louisiana Waterthrush looks more like a thrush or sparrow than the warbler it is.
This species is of high conservation importance because of its relatively small breeding range, low overall density, and dependence on clear forest streams both on its breeding and tropical wintering grounds.
Sandhill Cranes return to goose pasture at Jasper-Pulaski and then sunset happened.
Panorama stitched from 6 shots.
We started getting a little early color in the Georgia mountains due to the very dry conditions over the last several weeks. I find the way the colors of this fall bird blend in to be amazing!
Contrast this composite with the previous post of a spring singing adult male. Both of these birds have a black eye-line rather than a solid black auricular patch so that rules out the fall adult male. Many fall adult males have no evidence of black in the throat area so the auricular area (face patch) is a good place to look to rule out a fall adult male. Once the fall adult male is ruled out, if the bird has no evidence of buff in the flanks, or anywhere else, along with having rather bold black side stripes, it is likely a first fall male. The bird on the left is consistent with a first fall male. When the fall bird has buff not only in the flanks but also in the face and back area it is most probably a first fall female. Females of any age also tend to have much duller black side striping.