Last winter I had a little olive and brown colored bird arrive in my yard that I knew immediately wasn’t one of my usual suspects. It had no wing bars, no eye ring and just a touch of golden color here and there. It was quite dainty and lovely and when I looked it up I determined that it must be an orange crowned warbler. They are migrants in our area but unusual so I needed to be very sure. I needed to take a photo.

This bird was little but it knew how to move! I got many blurry shots before getting one that really gave us a chance for a confirmed identity, which I did get.

Just a few weeks ago, I saw the bird, or one like it, again! It was also elusive in terms of being photographed.

I got a lot of shots like this one.

and this one

and this one

before I finally got this one

and this one

It’s a feisty little thing but also very shy. Any time the bigger birds arrive it leaves the suet feeder and the gardens though on the very coldest days it seems to be a little braver.

How long will this bird hang around? No one knows though it seems they hang around where there’s food so we’ll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, it’s a very cool yard bird!

You can learn more about Orange crowned warblers at this link.