This morning our family went to the SNP to try photographing Kentucky
warblers and yellow-breasted chats. The first stop was at High Top Mountain
parking area, and the Kentucky warblers obliged us. We saw two of them and
got a number of photos. They boys especially had good success today,
capturing in-flight shots, etc. Well, maybe the best in-flight were chats
instead of KWs, but some of their work did make me a little green..
Kentucky warbler photos:
http://www.naturefriendmagazine.com/photos.pl?catid=99
Next we moved further south to the Swift Run Overlook. The chat obliged us
too, and we had various opportunities to photograph him-some through fog,
other opportunities less so. During one of the "fog" times, I was shooting
what I thought were immature chats. After photographing one, it flew off to
the left. Almost immediately, another flew up from the brush and sat in the
same place. I'm quite sure they were two different birds, so I was thinking
we were seeing a chat and several young.
Now that I am home and have gone through the photos more carefully, even
digitally "removing" the fog as best I could, I see the birds likely are not
chats at all. I really do not know what they are. They don't sit quite
like the chats, and the heads are yellow while the wings are black. They
did appear to us to be chat-sized birds. The black stripe/white stripe at
the eye, as well as the brown wings of a chat, are not present. Even though
I question if they are chats, they are currently in the chat folder on our
website. They are photos ten and eleven in the line-up. We will be glad to
know what the birds are-probably a simple question for you experienced
birders.
Yellow-breasted chat and two unknown birds:
http://www.naturefriendmagazine.com/photos.pl?catid=100
Thank you in advance for your help IDing the two birds.
Kevin Shank
Rockingham County
