As I mentioned last week, I found a new favorite trail for birding. I went back yesterday with a fresh set of batteries for my camera, but unfortunately did not get as many amazing shots as I had hoped for. We went during the late morning, so the lighting wasn’t too great, nor were many of the birds as active as when we went in the evening last week. I can’t say that I walked away with nothing, though.

I must have seen a dozen yellow warblers, but for some reason they’re masters of standing still until my camera focuses, then flying off. They were the most frustrating subject I’ve ever tried to capture.

Now aside from yellow warblers, I’m not to good with these springtime birds. They all sound so similar to me, and 90% of them have some kind of yellow pattern on them. Hence, I’m unsure of the bird species in the fourth photo. It looks a bit too large to be a warbler, but it doesn’t have an orange beak like a goldfinch. If I had to guess, I’d say it was a goldfinch, but I’m not too confident in that guess at all. Any ideas?

I also had some encounters with baby birds, which is to be expected in the middle of June, I suppose. Both times, the parents were not pleased at all. The robin sat very still for me until my friend got too close, and as for the song sparrow nest, I didn’t even know I was right next to it! The two parents were Fluttering from bush to bush in front of me and behind me, and I was amazed they had gotten so close. Then I became a bit suspicious when I realized that they were making the same call over and over, and I turned around and their nest was right behind me! I tried to use my camera’s zoom to snap a quick shot instead of getting any closer, but my camera is notably incapable of focusing on anything other than random sticks. I felt kind of bad for scaring them like that, but it was a complete misunderstanding, haha.

I don’t know what I would do without 26x zoom