Ash Canyon Part VIII

It must have been a great day at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast because there are still more photos. I have always found warblers difficult to photograph. First, since I am deaf in one ear I can't determine the direction of sound. So hearing a bird and finding it are two different things. I must rely on sight -- which typically means movement. Then I must follow the bird until it rests before getting a photo. Probably the best warbler photos I have are of the Yellow Rumped Warbler which Sibley says is our most common warbler. But up until now they have always been solitary birds, one here or one there. At Ash Canyon they were in flocks - a dozen or more. There were mostly the Audubon's Yellow Rumped Warbler which unlike the Myrtle Yellow Rumped Warbler is found only in Western North America. The Audubon's is easily differentiated from the Myrtle's by its dark yellow throat. Both are primarily insectivorous and live in conifer and mixed woodlands. They often flit to catch insects -- as if they were flycatchers.