My birding goal for 2025 is a picture of a Blackburnian Warbler. I've included pictures of warblers & woodpeckers from over the years, but none I've taken of a Blackburnian -- I don't have any.
Really nice collection of images and sightings, James. You put it perfectly: "All it takes to see a bird is knowledge, effort, and some luck. Sometimes “some” luck means quite a lot."
This is how I chalk up my own sightings as well. In in the end it's mostly luck that I see some of the birds and wildlife.
I am hoping to see a Great Grey/Gray Owl as I have never seen one before. Bit of a longshot and plenty of luck needed!
Here's hoping you capture a photograph of a Blackburnian Warbler for 2025!
Thank you Neil. Luck is the most crucial part. A Great Gray isn’t a long shot, just a great goal! Any worthwhile goal feels like a long shot at the outset. I look forward to your Great Gray photos and Sijo.
Blackburnians are so beautiful. I hope you are blessed with one that sits on a lovely perch and gives you great looks. 🧡 And thank you for the recommendation!
Thank you, Kelly. I hope my Blackburnian goals come to fruition, and of course if they do I’ll write about it here. And I should be thanking you for writing that piece to begin with. I know you wrote you were the 566 millionth person to write a newsletter on self care, but you had new and interesting perspective that those other 566 million probably didn’t bring.
James, I hope this year is the year of the Blackburnian for you. I have a feeling it will be. I stopped keeping a list but am certain I have seen one at the Refuge in the past, when I went out birding on a more regular basis. It seems that birding has fallen by the wayside for me. I make no resolutions on a new year, but to return to birding would make me happy.
Thank you Pamela. Definitely give birding a go if it’s doable. It doesn’t feel right to view birding as a resolution, maybe as a reward to yourself—some time out in nature, looking for little winged gifts, or not so little if you see hawks or owls
James, I used to spend so much time at the Refuge birding and it just hasn’t been working out for a variety of reasons in the past year or so. I am grateful for my birds around my neighborhood. The friendly Red-tailed, the occasional Barred, and my Goldfinches. I keep thinking I will get down there. It will change, I will!
It will change! You will make it happen. You said yourself in an older Daily Affirmations I quoted in Goodbye/Hello: "I am willing to see that I can evolve and change the aspects of myself that I am not happy about. Change is always good." You have the will, the determination, and the grit. Whatever keeps you from the Refuge is no match for your desire to go! The redtail and the Barred will tide you over as the change aligns--then you'll be seeing those species at your beloved Refuge.
Best of luck! Scarcity and beauty create value, and these birds are tantalizingly difficult to find and jaw-droppingly beautiful, so valuable. Nothing good comes easy. A Blackburnian Warbler is definitely good, definitely not easy.
Thank you, James. What a wonderful photo series and field guide here. I learned something with each image, from each bird. Thank you for sharing these incredible images. I hope this will be a most beneficial Blackburnian year for you and that we will get to see it along with you.
Thank you Heidi! Each one of these photos makes me think of the moment—what else was going on, what I was feeling, if I was with anybody, etc. The common denominator is I was usually pretty thrilled to be seeing the birds. Warblers are special like that.
That’s a great way to bring up memories on so many levels and senses. Do you find that helpful as you manage your recovery? Birds as healers of the mind?
I also love waterfowl. There are many reasons. I will share one. They convey such a sense of beauty and serenity while on top of the water. The serenity and beauty transfers to me.
Such beautiful photos. I don't see myself ever doing a Big Year myself, but I'm glad you shared yours. I need to start lugging my Nikons with me on hikes instead of relying on a monocular, I have never seen a Common Yellowthroat despite hearing their song (at least according to Merlin) at my local swampy creek.
Thank you Thomas. Big Years are all-consuming. I don’t really readily recommend doing one, to be honest. Glad to hear you are a Nikon guy! Can’t beat them, in my opinion. I hope you get to use one of yours for shots of a Common Yellowthroat.
Heh, I wish I had a Nikon camera... but I have ProStaff binoculars. I shoot with a Sony RX10-IV with a 600mm zoom lens. I wanted a large point and shoot, and it gives me good photos. I'm not sure if I should improve my field glasses or just hold out and buy a Vortex Razor spotting scope and tripod. You must've sent me luck, I saw a couple of Northern Shovelers and Hooded Mergansers among the many Canadian Honkers this morning!
Sony and Nikon are the best cameras for birds in my opinion! If I had not gone z8, I’d have gone a7. And a 600mm gets you super close. Vortex razor is a dream of mine too—and I’m glad to hear about the shovelers. Never a bad day when they show up, merganser too.
Darcy and I heard but did not see a Blackburnian in late April at Table Rock State Park in South Carolina. I imagined it would stay that way but one surprised me on a walk a week later in central North Carolina.
Yes, I have the sighting tagged on May 5th. We saw a ton of warblers at that festival at the end of April, but I was also walking around in the woods with about 10 hardcore birders each day, so that may have helped. I plan to go to Bull Gap in my neck of the woods regularly in May because I really want to see the Cerulean Warbler this year, not just hear it.
Wow! A week's worth of reading here, James! Now I will NEVER get anything done... Thanks so much for all the work and all the sharing. I look forward to getting acquainted with all these birds.
Lovely to spend time with your bird reflections, as always! Apologies if you mentioned this and I missed it, but can you share what kind of camera you use?
No worries at all! Most of these were taken with a Nikon d500, my capable workhorse for many years. It reached the end of its useful life in 2024 so I replaced it with a z8.
The “inarguably cute” bufflehead hoot of it fluffing its wings is super. Now that I’ve seen one live, I totally agree.
And then there’s the very sweet little “Prothonotary Warbler“. That one needs a nickname 🤭 for it is too cute and tiny to carry such a heavy, hard to pronounce name 😆
Really nice collection of images and sightings, James. You put it perfectly: "All it takes to see a bird is knowledge, effort, and some luck. Sometimes “some” luck means quite a lot."
This is how I chalk up my own sightings as well. In in the end it's mostly luck that I see some of the birds and wildlife.
I am hoping to see a Great Grey/Gray Owl as I have never seen one before. Bit of a longshot and plenty of luck needed!
Here's hoping you capture a photograph of a Blackburnian Warbler for 2025!
Thank you Neil. Luck is the most crucial part. A Great Gray isn’t a long shot, just a great goal! Any worthwhile goal feels like a long shot at the outset. I look forward to your Great Gray photos and Sijo.
Blackburnians are so beautiful. I hope you are blessed with one that sits on a lovely perch and gives you great looks. 🧡 And thank you for the recommendation!
Thank you, Kelly. I hope my Blackburnian goals come to fruition, and of course if they do I’ll write about it here. And I should be thanking you for writing that piece to begin with. I know you wrote you were the 566 millionth person to write a newsletter on self care, but you had new and interesting perspective that those other 566 million probably didn’t bring.
I can't wait to see your photos when you get them! And I'm so pleased I was able to bring something fresh to the self-care discussion
James, I hope this year is the year of the Blackburnian for you. I have a feeling it will be. I stopped keeping a list but am certain I have seen one at the Refuge in the past, when I went out birding on a more regular basis. It seems that birding has fallen by the wayside for me. I make no resolutions on a new year, but to return to birding would make me happy.
Thank you Pamela. Definitely give birding a go if it’s doable. It doesn’t feel right to view birding as a resolution, maybe as a reward to yourself—some time out in nature, looking for little winged gifts, or not so little if you see hawks or owls
James, I used to spend so much time at the Refuge birding and it just hasn’t been working out for a variety of reasons in the past year or so. I am grateful for my birds around my neighborhood. The friendly Red-tailed, the occasional Barred, and my Goldfinches. I keep thinking I will get down there. It will change, I will!
It will change! You will make it happen. You said yourself in an older Daily Affirmations I quoted in Goodbye/Hello: "I am willing to see that I can evolve and change the aspects of myself that I am not happy about. Change is always good." You have the will, the determination, and the grit. Whatever keeps you from the Refuge is no match for your desire to go! The redtail and the Barred will tide you over as the change aligns--then you'll be seeing those species at your beloved Refuge.
Thank you! I know it will change. One would think I lived a great distance away, I get there so little!
Took me forever to SEE a Blackburnian last migration, and I don’t think I’ve ever photographed one
But in solidarity I’m going to try! Thanks for the shoutout and I’m so excited to see where your birding peregrinations take you this year
As Tina Fey would say, “Let’s do this.” 🐦⬛🦆🪶🦉🪺
Best of luck! Scarcity and beauty create value, and these birds are tantalizingly difficult to find and jaw-droppingly beautiful, so valuable. Nothing good comes easy. A Blackburnian Warbler is definitely good, definitely not easy.
What a beautiful bird! I look forward to hearing about your success in May!
Thank you Alice! Here’s hoping the birds play along
No matter the outcome, I’m sure you’ll have a great story to tell!
Me, too!
Thank you, James. What a wonderful photo series and field guide here. I learned something with each image, from each bird. Thank you for sharing these incredible images. I hope this will be a most beneficial Blackburnian year for you and that we will get to see it along with you.
Thank you Heidi! Each one of these photos makes me think of the moment—what else was going on, what I was feeling, if I was with anybody, etc. The common denominator is I was usually pretty thrilled to be seeing the birds. Warblers are special like that.
That’s a great way to bring up memories on so many levels and senses. Do you find that helpful as you manage your recovery? Birds as healers of the mind?
I also love waterfowl. There are many reasons. I will share one. They convey such a sense of beauty and serenity while on top of the water. The serenity and beauty transfers to me.
Great words to capture them: beauty and serenity. Thank you Perry.
Such beautiful photos. I don't see myself ever doing a Big Year myself, but I'm glad you shared yours. I need to start lugging my Nikons with me on hikes instead of relying on a monocular, I have never seen a Common Yellowthroat despite hearing their song (at least according to Merlin) at my local swampy creek.
Thank you Thomas. Big Years are all-consuming. I don’t really readily recommend doing one, to be honest. Glad to hear you are a Nikon guy! Can’t beat them, in my opinion. I hope you get to use one of yours for shots of a Common Yellowthroat.
Heh, I wish I had a Nikon camera... but I have ProStaff binoculars. I shoot with a Sony RX10-IV with a 600mm zoom lens. I wanted a large point and shoot, and it gives me good photos. I'm not sure if I should improve my field glasses or just hold out and buy a Vortex Razor spotting scope and tripod. You must've sent me luck, I saw a couple of Northern Shovelers and Hooded Mergansers among the many Canadian Honkers this morning!
Sony and Nikon are the best cameras for birds in my opinion! If I had not gone z8, I’d have gone a7. And a 600mm gets you super close. Vortex razor is a dream of mine too—and I’m glad to hear about the shovelers. Never a bad day when they show up, merganser too.
Darcy and I heard but did not see a Blackburnian in late April at Table Rock State Park in South Carolina. I imagined it would stay that way but one surprised me on a walk a week later in central North Carolina.
Thank you for the recommendation! It means a lot.
A week later, so early May? May is the best time to see warblers, I’ve learned via looking for them these years!
Yes, I have the sighting tagged on May 5th. We saw a ton of warblers at that festival at the end of April, but I was also walking around in the woods with about 10 hardcore birders each day, so that may have helped. I plan to go to Bull Gap in my neck of the woods regularly in May because I really want to see the Cerulean Warbler this year, not just hear it.
Wow! A week's worth of reading here, James! Now I will NEVER get anything done... Thanks so much for all the work and all the sharing. I look forward to getting acquainted with all these birds.
This one was longer than I typically aim for but warblers and concision don’t really go together. I hope you enjoy!
Lovely to spend time with your bird reflections, as always! Apologies if you mentioned this and I missed it, but can you share what kind of camera you use?
No worries at all! Most of these were taken with a Nikon d500, my capable workhorse for many years. It reached the end of its useful life in 2024 so I replaced it with a z8.
The “inarguably cute” bufflehead hoot of it fluffing its wings is super. Now that I’ve seen one live, I totally agree.
And then there’s the very sweet little “Prothonotary Warbler“. That one needs a nickname 🤭 for it is too cute and tiny to carry such a heavy, hard to pronounce name 😆
I love your photos
Snowy Owls do have a way of making an impression! I hope you see one again soon.
Thank you so much!