Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - 2017

   Chestnut-sided Warblers winter in southern Mexico and Central America and take a direct flight across the Gulf of Mexico to their nesting areas which includes the upper Midwest and northeastern U.S. The birds nest in leafy second-growth woods, clearings, and thickets. I saw Chestnut-sided Warblers in several locations during a week-long birding trip to Michigan and Minnesota earlier this year. These are the best of the many photos I took of this beautiful bird. The bird was in deep shadow and/or partially obscured in most images.

Larger versions of the photos can be viewed by clicking on the image.

Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - June 2, 2017

From: Cornell Lab of Ornithology - All about Birds

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chestnut-sided_Warbler/id

 Male Description, Breeding (Alternate) plumage:   Crown bright yellow, with white edge at front. Nape pale gray streaked with black. Back striped yellow and black. Tail blackish. Black stripe from bill to behind eye. Black mustache stripe. Cheek white. Throat, chest, belly, and under tail white. Sides with long narrow chestnut streak. Two broad yellowish wingbars. Flight feathers outlined in pale yellow or white.


Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - May 28, 2017

From: American Bird Conservancy

https://abcbirds.org/bird/chestnut-sided-warbler/

"Chestnut-sided Warbler is one of the few native American birds that benefited from the clearing of mature forests, since the birds nest in brushy, open habitats. The species has actually expanded its range since the 19th century, as forests were cut and abandoned pasture lands began to re-grow. Today it is one of the most common breeding warblers in second-growth deciduous woodlands."


Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - May 28, 2017

Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - May 28, 2017


Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - June 2, 2017

From: Audubon Guide to North American Birds

http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/chestnut-sided-warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler "is apparently much more numerous today than it was historically: John James Audubon, roaming eastern North America in the early 1800s, saw this bird only once."


Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - June 2, 2017

Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - June 2, 2017


Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - June 2, 2017

Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - June 2, 2017


Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - May 30, 2017

Chestnut-sided Warbler - Michigan - May 30, 2017


David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.