Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Getting hot again out there. No real breeze in the woods so I decided to head back in. Couldn't get the shot of a Black-throated Blue male that appeared in front of me but chose a tree to the right and made its way into the distance. However, this bird was waiting by the exit of my trail. A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.



I could hear other chipping going on so I am pretty show that there are some young ones nearby. Couldn't see them but I was plenty busy trying to get shots of this adult male. Gnatcatchers do not pause often.



They move so quickly that I wasn't even sure I had a clear shot at all until I got back to the computer. Not too shabby and I like the way they turned out with the dappled sunlight.



This is the only one in full sunlight. I like that, too! It also reminds me of the first time I ever saw one. Many years ago we took the kids to a local park right after opening Christmas gifts. While I was taking photos of the kids I spotted a small, frantic bird, flying all over the place. I managed one fair shot as it fed among a bunch of branches and leaves. It was a pretty bad photo but one thing was clear. This little blueish bird had a bright white eye-ring.



I spent the next few days trying to find out what this tiny bird was and was pleased that I was able to do so on my own. I was not a 'birder' at the time. I had always noticed birds but was not really seeing them. That Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was the first huge domino.

About a week later, a co-worker wondered if I knew what these small birds outside our office were. I had to track them down, too, and they turned out to be Palm Warblers. A second ID in a short time and I was hooked on birds for good. That office was about a mile from my current office.

But, the bird that really first pulled me down the path I follow now was a 5 gram bundle of energy with a piercing call and white eye-ring. Some folks get bored with them but I have a reason to love Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. If not for them, who knows...?