View allAll Photos Tagged fallmigration
A cool fact from Cornell
"Tundra Swans breed in the remote arctic of North America. Parents defend their nests and young against a host of predators including foxes, weasels, wolves, and bears, as well as birds such as Glaucous Gulls, Common Ravens, Parasitic Jaegers, Pomarine Jaegers, and Golden Eagles."
Centennial Olympic Park. Atlanta GA. 11/10/2017.
There are a lot of similarities in appearance between the Tennessee and Orange-crowned warblers, especially when seen from a side or top down view. Orange-crowned warblers have a more yellow undertail covert compared to Tennessees who in contrast are always lighter in the undertail covert area than the remainder of the underside. Orange-crowneds like Tennessees have a dark eye line but they also have a split white eye ring, and don't have a lighter colored stripe (supercilium) above the eye like Tennessees. Finallly the Orange-crowned has a longer tail. See my previous post for a comparison.
This is eastern warbler species 36 for 2017. Only Pa1m warbler remains to be added to this album.
Both of these birds have very limited pale yellow in the lores (above the eye near the beak) and along with some white feathering seen in each in the chin area above the yellow throat. Both birds therefore may be of the subspecies albilora which is known to nest in large sycamores that are near streams. More commonly we encounter subspecies dominica here in Georgia and they nest often in tall pines. I usually encounter both subspecies during fall migration, and encounter breeding albilora in Tennessee and Kentucky most Springs when I travel there.
The fall male looks much like the spring male except the bold black side stripes are often less bold due to some white feathering and there may be slight brownish hues in the grayish back. The first fall female is the dullest of all plumages as you can see by her very muted black side stripes, the absence of black in the crown (except for a thin line near the white supercilium), the reduced black in the face, and the lesser amount of yellow in the throat area. In addition the first fall female has noticeable buff in the sides/flanks and very noticeable brownish wash to her back.
Fall adult females and first fall males look similar and are intermediate between these plumages. It is difficult in the field or with images to age and sex this species except at the extremes of plumage.
Fall adult Golden-winged warblers look very similar to Spring adults but the adult male's beak changes from black in the Spring to a lighter shade in the fall. Check out the beaks of the adult males from Spring in my photostream or in my Golden-winged warbler album for a comparison.
Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia.
of this blessing the day after a three day back yard demolition (through the filthy back door). This Hooded Warbler was such a wonderful surprise and the first in this yard! I've ony seen one other one EVER! Okay, okay, last lousy shot!
See first comment for more information.
By far the best shot I have ever done of this beauty. Not a lifer, but a beautiful bird, on Lake Apopka in the Willows, on my driver's side, and posing! Thank you, Jesus! I am blessed and highly favored to have gotten to be there for such a time as this!
This is a warbler that is rare here in Georgia in both spring and fall migrations but a very common breeder much further north. For example in Michigan, especially the upper peninsula, it is ubiquitous. I suspect this is either a first fall male or an adult female as there is too much contrast and color to be a first fall female and probably not enough to be an adult male.
The most common bird the weekend we went to lake Erie, by a large margin, was the blackpoll. Depressingly, these are the best shots I got of this multitude...
A Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) perched in a dead snag along a country road southeast of Todield, Alberta, Canada.
29 September, 2025.
Slide # GWB_20250929_4079.jpg
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This composite shows a fall adult male below and a first fall male above. The fall adult male plumage shows the spring white wing panel is replaced by a pair of wing bars and the areas of black are now stippled with olive. The orange areas are less intense in color and the beak color has lightened. First fall male Blackburnians classically have yellow in the throat and face areas rather than orange. Fall adult females look somewhat similar but they have less bold black markings than the first fall male. These birds were photographed the same day in the same oak tree in late July along with a first fall female in the Georgia mountains. They do breed in the area they were photographed but this species is also already moving south by that date as well.
Centennial Olympic Park. Atlanta. I had not been to this downtown park since the pandemic but returned for a few visits this fall. It has the effect of concentrating migrants that are caught in the city, some of whom eventually make their way to the park. This is a late date for this species. It is such a beautiful bird and I am always struck by the dramatic change in beak color from spring to fall. In the spring the beak is black and in the fall it becomes a beautiful pinkish color.
Fall migration of the ruby-throat hummingbirds well underway. Any day now I'll not spot a "little bird" when out in the garden...
Today I begin a short series on Sanderlings, one of 43 species of Sandpipers native to North America.
I spent an hour with three of these birds the other evening and they let me get within 30 feet of them without a hint of fear or skittishness.
Standing in the Lake Michigan waters, this Sanderling gave me a nice pose...
Am letzten Wochenende waren wir 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.
Last weekend 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.
Georgia mountains. Have seen a lot of these migrating south this season. Most are yellow-lored but have had a couple white-lored. This individual has some brownish tones dorsally and also in the flanks indicating it is likely either a first fall male or an adult female. In addition there is not much black on the cap, just some black laterally, which also goes along with that. Adult males tend to have more black on the cap and no brownish tones along with bolder black side stripes. However in the fall those black side stripes are somewhat veiled in white feathers so they appear less bold in all plumages.
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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