Blackburnian Warbler

Here is a Blackburnian Warbler from a magical morning at Point Pelee during my Songbirds of Pelee Workshop on May 9, 2019. The birding started slowly, but we soon realized it would be an epic morning when warblers began to appear in increasing numbers. There was no legendary “wave” of Warblers, but it did become difficult to isolate just one bird in an image. I just relived that morning as I prepared this image for publication. All of the images before and after this frame include a Bay-Breasted or a Magnolia Warbler - One of those mornings that makes Point Pelee so legendary for spring migration!

I still have room on my Songbirds of Pelee May 7-11 workshop due to a medical emergency last-minute cancellation. Learn more and sign up for my May 7-11 Songbirds of Pelee Workshop HERE.

The only North American Warbler with an orange throat, the Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica fusca) was named after Anna Blackburne, an English Botanist. The male Blackburinan Warbler's orange throat appears glowing, giving it such previous names as "Firethroat" and "Tourchbird." Bent (1953) wrote, "Blackburnian seems to be a doubly appropriate name, for its upper parts are largely black and its throat burns like a brilliant orange flame amid the dark foliage of the hemlocks and spruces." Favouring Hemlocks, they feed and nest in coniferous trees' upper and outer portions, perhaps to avoid competition with other closely related species. Hidden in dense foliage or Usnea lichen and often as high as 85 feet, Blackburnian Warbler nests are an uncommon victim of Brown-Headed Cowbird parasitism.

Blackburnian Warbler with an ant for breakfast (Dendroica fusca, Paruline à gorge orangée, BLWA) on the beach at the tip of Point Pelee National Park of Canada during my Songbirds of Pelee Workshop. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds www.chrisdoddsphoto.com All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @800mm ISO 2,500, f/7.1 @ 1/2,000s Manual exposure. Full frame image.

2019 Point Pelee Migration Blackburnian Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica fusca, Paruline à gorge orangée, BLWA) on the beach at the tip of Point Pelee National Park of Canada during my Songbirds of Pelee Workshop. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds www.chrisdoddsphoto.com All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens  with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @800mm ISO 2,500, f/7.1 @ 1/2,000s Manual exposure.

 

The spring migration during my Songbirds of Pelee workshop was off the charts! It was the best migration I have ever seen. All of the birds were low and slow, with day after day of warbler bliss for photographers.

May 9th started like most at The Tip, relatively quiet at first, then a slow trickle of warblers that seemed to appear out of the leaf litter started to build and become a mega reverse migration. There were 9 species of warblers on the sand on the beach alone, and 26 species of warblers at the tip! It was, without doubt, the biggest and best spring migration that I have witnessed at Point Pelee; warblers were dripping off the trees!

Bird photography during spring migration is usually quite challenging in a National Park without using water drips, food or bird song playback to attract the birds. It can be quite frustrating to get the high-quality images that we all dream of with nice poses, clean backgrounds and nice perches. The results are well earned and some of the most rewarding photography that I have in my collection.

Technology certainly has made it easier to keep track of rare bird sightings with Twitter and WhatsApp providing a constant stream of messages with bird reports. As a photographer, it is important to "qualify the lead" before charging past a dozen species of warblers posing down low in nice light while trying to track down a rare warbler seen with a scope at 80 feet. Always ask when it was seen, how close, how high and if it seems to hang around. Try to determine the pedigree of the person who reported it to ensure it is an accurate identification, and always be sure that you want to give up the photo opportunities in front of you before chasing "phantoms".

This Blackburnian Warbler was photographed while foraging for insects with my Sony a9, 400mm GM lens and Sony 2X extender which was the set-up I carried around for the whole trip. I stopped-down to f/7.1 to increase the very shallow depth of field while working so close.