I am always impressed with birds, in particular in how successful they are as a species and their amazing diversity. I think as people we often take the birds for granted and that they are just a “normal” part of nature. Oh sure they are beautiful to look at but do we actually “look” at them? Do we spend any time sitting and watching? Do we consider how different they are or how small and fragile they are?

Recently I found myself thinking about these very questions. Just yesterday at sunrise on a early summer morning. The sky was clear and blue, the sun had just come up and the winds were calm. Nothing short of a perfect morning. I was spending a few days at my cabin on a lake with my wife and daughter and had taken some time early in the  morning before they got up to photograph a Yellow Warbler nest.

I had slowly moved closer and closer to the nest over a 30 minute period of time so the mother Yellow Warbler would become comfortable with me. I used the trees and shrubs between us as a natural barrier to make the tiny warbler feel more safe. Slowly I got within photographic range then settled in for a while so she would get very comfortable with me before I started photographing. 

I sat and watched as the mother warbler move about the shrubs and trees gathering caterpillars, spiders and other insects to bring back to the nest. She would wait until she had several stuffed in her bill before returning to the nest to feed the young. Interestingly, she never left a 10 foot radius around the nest to gather the food for your newly hatched chicks.

I could hear the male Yellow Warbler singing near by but he seemed to stay away most of the time. Occasionally he would show up with a big fat caterpillar and she would eagerly greet him and she would act like a baby bird herself by fluttering her wings and bowing before accept the caterpillar offering from the male. She would immediately return to the nest with the caterpillar and stand over the young in the nest as has if to say, “Look what your father brought you” and feed one of the hungry chicks. Then off she would go to look for more food.

After I knew she was comfortable with me be near by and had made many trips to the nest to feed the young I started to photograph. This is an important part of wildlife photography. In order to get natural behaviors and real action shots you need to sit and watch and learn what the bird is doing and also give it time to get comfortable with you being so close before taking any pictures.

Once I started taking some pictures the mother warbler didn’t even look up or react a tiny bit to my camera shutter or my flash going off. I had successfully introduced myself to this wonderful creature. Over the next couple hours I photograph the comings and goings of the mother as she feed the incredibly tiny chicks. At this stage of life these birds are no larger than a lima bean. They a sparsely covered with feathers, their eyes are sealed shut and they only have enough energy to lift their heads for a few seconds before collapsing on the floor of the nest in exhaustion.

But time and time again the mother flew to the edge of the nest and three tiny heads would lift up and she would deliver her insect meal and the babies would crumble in a heap. About every third or fourth visit the mother would settle down and sit on the chicks to keep them warm. This is a process called brooding. Chicks this small don’t have the ability to regular their own body temperatures very well so the mother still needs to keep them warm.

Feeling like I got several nice images, I slowly packed up my stuff and waited for a time when the mother wasn’t watching to creep away from the nest, being careful not to disturb the tiny amazing bird family. Until next time…