Need more ID help!

[Derrick Eidam]

Hello again. :p

I was out trying to photograph goldfinches yesterday when this little bird emerged. Again, I apologize for the lack of clarity, taking photos at 7:30pm with the sun behind the trees didn't prove to be too good. I couldn't find a match in my guide book, so I'll leave this to the experts. The photo was taken at Vassar Farm in Poughkeepsie, NY:



Taken w/ an Olympus E-420, Zuiko 70-300mm (@300mm) f5.6, Aperture Priority 1/125 ISO 400.
Anything that you might try and change settings wise? I've only had my SLR for 5 months and any knowledge that I can take in is appreciated. :)

[John Chardine]

Hi Derrick- Roger Tory Peterson didn't call his classic plates "Confusing fall warblers" for nothing!

This looks to me like a Common Yellowthroat. Note the yellow throat and yellow under the tail. The yellow looks brighter than would be expected on a young one so I think the bird is adult, likely a female because there is no hint of blackish feathers in the face. Common Yellowthroats like wet habitats. Does that fit with where you saw it?

Anyway, as always I'm always up for debate if someone thinks it's something else.

[Beth Goffe]

John, I thought the same thing.

[Derrick Eidam]

Hi Derrick- Roger Tory Peterson didn't call his classic plates "Confusing fall warblers" for nothing!

This looks to me like a Common Yellowthroat. Note the yellow throat and yellow under the tail. The yellow looks brighter than would be expected on a young one so I think the bird is adult, likely a female because there is no hint of blackish feathers in the face. Common Yellowthroats like wet habitats. Does that fit with where you saw it?

Anyway, as always I'm always up for debate if someone thinks it's something else.

Thank you, that definitely fits the description of my location! It didn't even occur to me that it was a Common Yellowthroat, despite seeing multiple males in the area during prior visits.

Even though the photo isn't great, it is a bird I didn't previously have a photograph of for our area, so thank you again for the help. :)

[John Chardine]

Derrick- regarding your settings, you could repost the image to Avian or Eager to Learn and see what people say. One thing that jumps out right away is that you are using 300mm on a 2x crop factor camera (equivalent focal length = 600 mm) at only 1/125s shutter speed. A shutter speed of 1/1000 or higher, and adjusting your ISO setting to accommodate, would reduce the effect of camera movement and subject movement and produce a sharper image.