Golden Cheeked Warbler

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Not a great shot by any means, but I wanted to share this anyway, given the rarity of the bird.
This is an endangered warbler that nests only in Texas.
A couple hours of hiking before this male was found; by then the sun was up and the light harsh.
But now I know where he lives ;)
I will try and get back there earlier in the morning the next time.

I got several shots of him singing at the tree top against the blue sky. I only got one where he was lower against a green bg. I blurred some specular highlights in the bg.

Canon 50D + 300 2.8 + 2x
1/640, f5.6, +1/6ev

[Dave Leroy]

Good for you to find and record the bird.

And good luck finding him again, hopefully at an angle and light you like.

[Brad Fields]

I think you did good considering the lighting conditions. I was in the hill country last weekend and kept my eyes and ears open for this guy but no luck. Thanks for sharing.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Thx for sharing this rarity. Would love to see it one day. Considering the light, I'd say you did extremely well. Congrats.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Thanks for the comments. Brad, Kaustubh, let me know if you're in the Austin area and want to see some golden cheeks.