Common Yellowthroats

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
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Common Yellowthroat warblers are common and even though their numbers have declined, it seems not to be a cause for concern. I would call it concerning, though. They eat insects. They don't really hunt, but seem to wait for a bug to fly by and then catch it. But they will fly after one now and then. They must go through a lot of bugs to feed their babies!

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
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I have no particular reason for highlighting this bird, except that I ran across one of the photos yesterday and decided to collect them all into one spot. I'm very proud of some of the shots, chuckle at others, and have wonderful memories of them all. I used to get up with the sun and go out with the cats for a bird walk. The cats upset the birds so that they showed themselves and were easy to photograph with a long lens and big camera. The cats never got a bird; they returned to the house with me. But they sure had great walks.

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
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I'm not a birder, so I can't say with certainty, but the birds with white caps I assume are male. The "duller" birds I think are female. There may be juveniles here. There are 17 races of yellowthroats in North America, I read. That is a lot of variation. You may think identifying insects is tough. I think identifying birds is near impossible. I am in total awe of you who know what you are looking at!

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
4.1

All photos are confirmed identifications at iNaturalist.

I would never entrust myself with a bird ID unless it is a robin.

4.2

4.3

Juvenile?
5.1

Same juvenile (?)
5.2

And the same juvenile (?)
5.3

I also read that the adults do not fly directly to the nest to feed the babies. They drop the bugs and walk to the nest so that predators do not find it.

I feel better now with posting this. It snowed all day yesterday and will snow all day today. I have about a foot of snow now. Power is on and off intermittently because the snow is very wet and heavy. Only plows are driving by, so it is feeling lonely right about now. Seeing all of the colors of summer with these birds is very therapeutic.

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Saturday's Critters at
Viewing Nature with Eileen

_/\_/\_

The Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

This little bird has occupied my life the last few days. My sister-in-law, Marcia, told me it was a Common Yellowthroat warbler. Unconvinced, because the web photos I saw showed a little fluff of feathers with a black mask, I posted this bird to Google+ and got a mess of responses. But I now agree with Marcia because of this photographer and comments by other birders. This is an immature Common Yellowthroat. These photos were taken on a beautiful August morning when the cats and I were taking our daily walk.

The little bird followed and watched us closely.

I caught it flying to another perch.

_/\_/\_