Western TanagerAs I walked out the front door I heard a bird call which was unfamiliar, so I started to look up into the trees. I spotted a yellow bird, one larger than the goldfinches hanging out in the yard, one I had never seen before. I rushed back indoors grabbed up my camera ready to take the perfect shot. Of course when I very cautiously went back outside, the bird was not where I last saw it. I stood very still and scanned all the surrounding trees, then saw the bird way up in the branches of a plum tree. I very slowly edged my way closer all the while readying the camera for a close up shot, and managed to snap just one before the bird flew off.
Back indoors I opened my "Birds of Washington State" book and looked for a yellow bird of about the same size of the one I had photographed. I was surprised to see a number of bird which looked similar, but had to look carefully at the photo to distinguish all coloring and markings on the bird, checking against the description in the book.
ID: stout orangy bill - check
bluish gray legs - check
Yes indeed, I am 99.9% sure I have I have correctly identified the visitor to my garden.
11 comments:
Nicely done!
What a beautiful visitor!
Nice Job!!!! By any chance do you parcipate in the Great American Bird search? Of course at the moment I don'r remember when exactly its done, but its about a week long, you log in all the birds you see, time date & such to help with recordind of bird migrations etc. If I wasn't procrastinating about doing my homewrok, I would get it for you, you would probably enjoy it!
What a lovely little bird ... you managed to get a great shot! Isn't it marvellous when you spot an unfamiliar bird in the garden ... it feels like a great privilege!!
Wonderful photograph.
I'll bet you were puzzling over warblers...so confusing!
Very cool! I have some much trouble photographing anything that flies -- great shot.
aloha,
what a nice visitor and so wonderfully photographed.
It is always exciting when you get a unfamiliar visitor of the feathered kind.
He is beautiful.
Jen
It is so amazing that you have a beautiful visitor in your garden. It is just mean that your garden is so wonderful and peaceful. The amazing part of this is how you capture that image.
Hi Jennifer. I admire your stealth commitment to finding and photographing your feathered visitor. What a beauty he is. I hope he was just on a stakeout for goodies and will be back with his mate and maybe even set up residence. Wouldn't that be a blessing.
I never catch those moments! Great job!
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