The Very Rare Golden Cheeked Warbler

[Maestro]

Okay, so I am very excited about having seen, observed and photographed these guys. What an experience! Unfortunately, I didn't get the National Geographic image that I was hoping for as I could not coax any GCW to the blinds. So I went ahead and did this the old fashioned way seeking them out in the tree. The second day at Los Madrones Ranch (http://www.losmadrones.com) proved successful in that venture. These pictures are pleasing to me because they show the GCW doing what it does best: Hanging out in the deep foliage of the trees foraging and at this time of the year singing and protecting territory.

These are the first images....

I spotted one high in a juniper
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Small%20Birds/GoldenCheekedWarbler8.jpg

Kept tracking it hoping to get a clear shot.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Small%20Birds/GoldenCheekedWarbler3.jpg

Threaded the needle so to speak between branches and leaves to get this shot. Had to use the flash because of the shadows.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Small%20Birds/GoldenCheekedWarbler1.jpg

The male just did not want to come out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Small%20Birds/GoldenCheekedWarbler15b.jpg

The female finally started to get more out in the open but not by much
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Small%20Birds/GoldenCheekedWarbler6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Small%20Birds/GoldenCheekedWarbler10.jpg

Okay, more to come later....

[Ric Grupe]

Only the hardest photographic pursuit there is!

Small, shy birds...exasperating sometimes.

Good hunting, Stephen.:D

[jdmphoto]

numbers 4 and 6 are my favorites. :bow :clap I have never senn or heard of one before but the male is beautiful. Persistence pays off.

[bfjr]

Man I remember how I felt when I 1st saw an Orange Bishop !!

So I'm right there with ya, Congrats on the Find :thumb

[Maestro]

Only the hardest photographic pursuit there is!

Small, shy birds...exasperating sometimes.

Good hunting, Stephen.:D

Thanks Ric. The owner of the ranch has been a photographer for 30+ years. He is the former photo editor of Texas Highways Magazine. He told me that in all his years of photographing different subjects birds were definitely the most challenging. Makes me feel better.

[dbaker1221]

really cool find Stephen:ivar :ivar

[Maestro]

numbers 4 and 6 are my favorites. :bow :clap I have never senn or heard of one before but the male is beautiful. Persistence pays off.
Thanks John. They are very rare birds because of habitat loss. They will only nest in junipers and occasionally the different oaks of the Texas Hill Country, but unfortunately since the 1800s, ranchers and farmers and cleared juniper as if it were a nuisance weed to make way for cattle and crops. Like many wood warblers they are very striking in color. Currently, they only nest in a relatively small area of the Texas Hill Country before heading back to Chiapas, Mexico where it spends most of the year.

[Harryb]

Congrats Stephen on those captures. :thumb

Great post as you show the excitment and the frustration of wildlife photography. I have done different types of photography and wildlife shooting by far is the most challenging.

[Rhuarc]

Congrats Stephen on those captures. :thumb

Great post as you show the excitment and the frustration of wildlife photography. I have done different types of photography and wildlife shooting by far is the most challenging.

I prefere wildlife that has nowhere to go! aka, the zoo! LoL, and I find it much easier to photograph larger specimens, elephants, giraffes, you get the idea! LoL...

Great shots Stephen! Looks like that little bugger is as hard to capture as the elusive Kingfisher!

[raptorcaptor]

Very cool Stephen! Congrats on your great find!