Blackburnian Warbler

There is no single easy ID on the blackburnian warbler; there are three or four, and you learn them one trip at a time.

In my experience, sex differences show up more reliably in the field than any field guide suggests; the plates always look cleaner than the bird.

My images for this species are all made with available light. I don’t use fill flash in the field.

The best individual bird I’ve had was hunting in thin morning light, long enough for me to watch rather than shoot for once.

I’m still bad at sexing juvenile blackburnian warblers in the first year, and I suspect I always will be.