I like to photograph birds and unless I get a photo . . . I fear that I really didn’t see it what I think I saw.  While probably a quarter of the birds on my life list are on the “honor system” . . . I’m always trying to backfill those birds with photos.

Anyone who has ever tried to photograph warblers knows they can be challenging.  Combine their small size and constant movement is frustrating, but with patience, you’ll get the little guys posing on a near by branch.  But every birder has a nemesis.  For me, its the Common Yellow Throat . . . one of the most prolific and easy to spot warbler.  Ingrid and I see them regularly, we hear them regularly . . . but I’ve never been able to get a good photo.   When I’ve tried . . . the Common Yellow Throat is partially hidden by foliage, the shot is blurry and more likely . . . he moved before the shutter fired.

My frustration ended yesterday at Hermit Island, when a CYT posed for 10 minutes and let me fire away . . . what a thrill.

Hermit Island is a Campground on the end of a peninsular on the coast of Maine.  During the summer it is an active campground, but during the winter it is one of the best birding spots in Maine as the owners let visitors stroll through the trails for free.  The campground opens next weekend . . . so yesterday was our last trip until fall.

We saw lots of Warblers:

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”242″ display=”pro_mosaic”]

And lot of our regular favorites

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”243″ display=”pro_mosaic”]Eastern Phoebe

Great Blue Heron

Red-winged Blackbird

Chipping Sparrow