It was a fairly dull day in my local park 'til this guy showed up. I was walking along a power line which can be good for sparrows and flycatchers and yellow warblers and I look to my left and 6' or so is this Blackburnian Warbler. I couldn't believe my eyes! I normally don't see many different warblers at this place, just the more common ones. I believe this is only the second time I've seen this species after looking for it many times. What a striking bird! That color is hard to believe. At first he was so close I couldn't focus. All the while he seemed curious and unafraid of me. And out in the open. I blew the first opportunity as my camera was on a tripod (sometimes I hate them), finally when I took it off I was able to get some decent shots, before he moved into dense vegetation in typical warbler fashion. Still he remained in good view for quite a long time. Made my day for sure. What really blew me away is he showed absolutely no fear of me. I wonder, are they normally this bold? Reading more about them, I notice in Sibley it says they are usually seen in tall trees and 'tends to stay in treetops'. Wow, I got lucky!!
