Monday, April 16, 2012

Flittering through Buckhorn

Oh my gosh!  Quick, get the camera!  


A dozen busy little beauties flitting and fluttering around our beautiful Mermaid rose on the last day of the snow melt... 

What could they be?  (Can you pick one out in this photo?)


We could see with the naked eye that they were colorful, almost blue, with variated coloring around the wings, but they just wouldn't hold still long enough to get a good look!  
Thank goodness for cameras!

 Sure enough, in five minutes they're gone, apparently finished with the goodies. Check the photos:


* Beautiful yellow crown,
* Delicate back pattern,
* Black eye slash,
* White wing tips,


What else?


* Yellow throat,
* Yellow side slashes,


None of the experts list or picture this bird: neither Peterson's nor Audobon's Field Guide; neither the internet nor the iPhone Audobon App. What are these little delights?


More clues:


* White circle around the eye--interrupted by the black slash,
* Insect eaters!



Of Vireos, Warblers and Flycatchers we first settle on Vireos, then  Warblers, but nothing quite fits.  The Myrtle Warbler is close, but it has a white throat and yellow rump.  The Audobon Warbler is close, but it has a yellow rump.  Can we find a yellow rump?  Back to searching the rose pictures for another bird to blow up.



Hooray!
Fuzzy photo, but we've spotted the secretive yellow rump!

Audobon's West Coast Warbler!

Further reading reveals that the East Coast Myrtle Warbler (white throat), and the West Coast Audobon Warbler (yellow throat), once separated by the Glacier Age, are now considered together as the...

Yellow Rumped Warbler
Welcome to Buckhorn!


Praise Him!

For the Beauty of the Earth
Foliott S. Pierpoint (1835-1917)

For the beauty of the earth
For the glory of the skies
For the love which from our birth 
Over and around us lies.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

Thanks for this carnival of feathers and fun!

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