Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

It's always thrilling when you go to a place looking for a bird and actually find it.  That happened to me this past Saturday at Mead Gardens. I had read reports of Orange-crowned Warblers being seen in the area, and I'd never seen one, so I decided I'd give it a shot.  Sure enough, shortly after arriving I found myself surrounded by various warblers, mostly Yellow-rumped and Palm warblers, but then out popped this drab looking warbler, and thought, "I think that's it! I actually found one!"  What a thrill.  There were also Pine and Black & White Warblers there, and that was nice too, but the Orange-crowned made my day.

Orange-crowned Warbler

Photographically, this was more of a challenge.  The sun was in front of me and to my right, and there wasn't much I could do to reposition myself for better lighting. And since the sun was shining through the trees, it created a very uneven lighting situation.  Most of my shots show the bird half in shadow and half blown out from the sunlight.  There were a few seconds, however, when the bird moved behind a large leaf, and most of the bird was in the shade.  The sun still reeked havoc on my background, but my photos were sharp, and I was able to improve the background a little in Lightroom.  I would've liked to have come home with better photos, but seeing the bird an getting these was still fun, and I wanted to share with you a little of my experience.

Orange-crowned Warbler
(notice the blown out lighting on the warbler's belly)