Picture Perfect Bullitt - Part 2
Picking up where we left off with yesterday morning’s outing at Bullitt…. The lighting continued to get better and better and the parade of impressive birds continued. One of the many reasons that I love Bullitt so much is that there are great opportunities for me to set up with the sun behind me while looking into the woods along the upper field. I so love the sunlight breaking through into the woods creating intense splashes of light.
My luck continued… next I spotted a Black Throated Green warbler! :). Honestly, that lighting is a dream come true for me and then to have this beautiful creature sit in the perfect spot was just incredible.
Consistently I hear the beautiful song of the Veery… and consistently I have a very hard time spotting one. I kept following his song but he was a row back and I could not spot him… until he flew onto this branch and posed for me! Some say that the song of the Veery is one of the most beautiful - I would agree. I can feel their song deep inside of me. In this particular spot the song echoes slightly into the woods - it is hard to describe how beautiful it is to hear that.
A flash of brilliant orange caught my attention… a spectacular male Baltimore Oriole.
The Black Throated Green warbler again… They flit around constantly - it was a real treat to have this one land for a second or two.
A stunning female Chestnut-sided warbler…
She then gave me another look at her -
Another very beautiful song that has been plentiful at Bullitt is that of the Red Eyed Vireo. They are very hard for me to see well enough to get a shot as they are in constant motion and they love hiding behind the foliage as they look for bugs. But because this was one of those days when the magic kept coming this one gave me some great looks. The distinctive red eyes are incredible and so is their almost non-stop beautiful singing throughout the day.
I couldn’t believe my good luck….
Breakfast!
This splendid female Scarlet Tanager caught my attention - just as I clicked my shutter the male flew in under the branch below her….
I then saw this male Scarlet Tanager to my left…
I walked up a little further to one of my favorite areas and I was able to watch this beautiful male Scarlet Tanager take the longest bath ever… primping and primping. It is a lot of work to keep feathers just so.
I love this position - making sure each feather is perfectly clean and in place.
Maybe someone can help me out - I am thinking that this a Downy Woodpecker? I am thinking the bill is too short to be a Hairy Woodpecker - please let me know if I am incorrect.
The following is a series that I am very excited about… very excited. I had been hearing the constant chirping of Indigo Buntings in this one particular area in the field- but could not for the life of me spot them. I spent a great deal of time trying when all of a sudden I spotted the mother (on our right) flying in to feed the young one (who had been hidden behind the leaves!)! Please bear with me as I am sharing with you the entire encounter because this was truly a dream come true for me… catching a mother feeding a young one without a million branches and leaves in the way … and perfect light. Unbelievable! I hope that you enjoy -
Mom is heading off to get more breakfast!
The little one waiting anxiously -
Mom intently trying to determine where to go next to find another bug…
I missed the next food transfer as they had moved to my left and you guessed it - I was blocked by the leaves. To add an exclamation point to my morning - the young one popped out for a split second in order for me to capture my last shot of this series and my morning.
What a glorious morning - I’ll never forget it.