jak86094

I got out yesterday for some late December photobirding. Starting at Heartwell Park in Long Beach, CA, where I totally struck out on Sunday morning, I experienced a beautiful, sunny day following some heavy rain. The rain softened the ground and made for a good day for birds. Some species feed from the ground where the rain makes the ground softer and forces some bugs, grubs, and worms to come to the surface. The warm weather also encouraged insects to come forth. One yard next to the park was teeming with flying insects, including flying termites, that attracted warblers and flycatchers for a feeding frenzy. As a result, I was able to find some species that I'd been unable to find earlier in the week when it was cold and rainy. Here are a few species that I saw Wednesday morning. Hope you like. All were taken with a Nikon D500 using a Nikkor 200-500mm telezoom, handheld. Have a wonderful, healthy new year. May 2021 be a fantastic, exciting year for you.

Dusky-capped Flycatcher: a rare, seasonal visitor to SoCal, I'd missed this bird on 3 prior visits. It was gorging on termites and other flying insects, making it easy to find and photograph.

Gray Flycatcher: A regular visitor, the Gray Flycatcher is never found in large numbers in SoCal. Again, I'd searched for it two previous times without luck, so when I found this bird flying between low branches in the mostly sycamore trees and brown patches in the lawn, I took a bunch of photos.

While not particularly rare, the Black-throated Gray Warbler is an active little bird. Distinguished by the black on the throat and the yellow patch above and in front of the eye, Black-throated Grays like to hop quickly from branch to branch high in the foliage of trees, making them difficult to find and photograph.

Townsend's Warbler: This small but beautiful warbler is fairly common in our local area. They joined the flycatchers and phoebes in chasing insects on this warm day.

Then American Pipit spends most of its time feeding on the ground. I captured this one seeking tasty (?) morsels in the park lawn along with about 25 of its closest friends.

I didn't get photos of all of the species discovered in the park yesterday morning, but these offered satisfying opportunities to snap photos that I thought might be worth sharing. Hope you agree.

jak

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Dusky-capped Flycatcher

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Gray Flycatcher

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Black-throated Gray Warbler

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American Pipit

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Townsend's Warbler

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NMGal Loc: NE NM

Great captures.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Beautiful sharp and well-composed images.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Great photos! Well done.

Amator21 Loc: California

They are all VERy good. No 2 is my favorite. Happy New Year!

phv Loc: Goleta, California

Just gorgeous!

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Again I am forced to observe how experience, patience and hard work results in such luck, jak! Happy New Year!

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

They're all noteworthy, but I particularly like that yellow warbler!

Appy Loc: Flint Hills (Ks)

That sure looks like pro level stuff to me!
They're all good, but first and last for me. The first is exceptional in every way, and that Warbler is an incredible looking fellow.

Ourspolair

Gorgeous captures to bring in the New Year. Stay well and have a Happy New Year.

jak86094

Thanks very much, NMGal. Happy healthy 2021. jak

jak86094

Thanks, kpmac. Much appreciated. Wishing you a happy and healthy 2021. jak

jak86094

Thank you very much, Cwilson341. I appreciate the kind comments and wish you a happy and healthy 2021.

jak86094

Thank you, Amator21. It was fun finding #2 after several unsuccessful attempts. Glad you enjoyed the pics. Have a healthy and happy 2021. jak

jak86094

Thank you, POV. That’s very kind. Hope you have a wonderful and healthy 2021. jak