Chronicles

Sometimes the best place to photograph nature can be right in the back yard. We are very fortunate to have a wonderful yard filled with colorful flowering shrubs and nice trees. The shrubbery provides excellent cover for birds, rabbits, and squirrels and their flowers attract a wide variety of butterflies and often hummingbirds.

When the bottle brush blooms, they become a magnet for warblers. The flowers attract bees and ants which the birds like. Even squirrels like the nectar from the flowers. Warblers can be very difficult to photograph because they often feed in the canopies of large trees and get blocked from view by leaves. But the bottle brush flowers are out in the open and provide some rare, good opportunities. This year there seems to be more northern parulas than in past years. These colorful little warblers are very tiny making the possibility of getting a good shot of them even more difficult. But sometimes patience pays off and a little luck comes into play. I captured a shot of a parula when he landed briefly on a wide-open branch.

Northern Parula Hopping Along Branch — *Northern Parula Hopping Along a Branch*

Several species of birds will respond to calls. While watching for the parulas and painted buntings, a tufted titmouse responded to a call within a minute. It flew in and landed on the pole for the feeder.

Tufted Titmouse Chattering On Feeder Pole — *Tufted Titmouse Chattering on a Feeder Pole*

I also had a Carolina wren, cardinal, and more parulas come to calls. The Carolina wren was so curious that it landed right at my feet. The parulas made several passes checking to see where the calls were coming from. I’ll be spending some more time in the yard over the next couple of weeks because the buntings will be heading north by early April.

More photos have been uploaded to the Songbirds and Warblers galleries.