The Common Yellowthroat is, well, a common warbler. It skunks around in low brush, often going unseen. Like the mallard duck, it is an “ordinary” bird to birders. But it is also strikingly beautiful. Especially the male with its bright yellow breast and black mask.
In Lebanon Sunday while searching for more unusual warblers, I saw a Common Yellowthroat mostly out of sight down in the brush at the edge of a small pond. It appeared to be taking a bath. It peeked up, but it was still mostly hidden. In this cluttered photo you can see the pond surface in the background.
I waited, likely only a few seconds, until it jumped up to a branch at the edge of the pond. It sat in a wonderful position for a relatively clean view. That rarely happens when one has a camera.
The masked bandit proceeded to shake and preen for what seemed to be a very long time, but in reality was less than 35 seconds. I shot a long burst at 1/125 sec (handheld at 800mm eq.) and then quadrupled my ISO quickly to get to 1/500 sec to better stop its very rapid movements.
Here is a 16-image slide show of the warbler drying off. You can click the center of any image and step through them at your own pace using the side arrows, if you wish. The blue background in the photos is the pond.
It was only one of the many birds of the morning, but it was a special event to share.