Warblers on the Mountain, Fall 2024, Part I

Painted Redstart, "startling" insects, Mt. Bigelow, August 4, 2024.

---

During the course of any summer, two warblers are regular ground nesters on Mt. Lemmon, with a preference for the riparian woodlands of Summerhaven and Marshall Gulch. In this post I will take a close look at the Painted Redstart and the Red-faced Warbler, both popular summer residents who are getting ready for their fall migration.

---

Painted Redstarts Get Ready to Head South for the Winter.

---

​

---

Canon R5 MkII, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, ISO 4000, +0.67 EV. 

---

Painted Redstarts are warblers who live year round in oak-pine forests and woodlands of Mexico, with some members migrating a short way north into Arizona and New Mexico to breed. They eat primarily insects either gleaned from tree leaves, or caught on the fly, and nest in the ground, often in cavities on slopes.

The Painted Redstart shown above and below was spotted looking for food on August 25th in the dense understory over the creek in Summerhaven, directly across from the Cookie Cabin. 

---

---

On August 4th on Mt. Bigelow, I caught the Painted Redstart below hopping from branch to branch looking for insects. This bird was moving very fast! 

---

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext., at 420mm, 1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 16000, +0.33 EV. 

---

---

Painted Redstarts "startle" their prey by rapidly spreading the tail, showing a flash of white and black, flicking it  up, as well as spreading the wings, as they hop from branch to branch. I was able to capture the rapid tail and wing flick in the image below. 

---

---

---

Our hungry hunter jumps to the next branch searching for lunch. 

---

---

---

Above and below, pausing long enough to pose while looking for food before charging forward again! 

---

---

In the sequence that follows, two Painted Redstarts have a lively debate over who owns a particular branch.   

The Cornell Lab's Birds of the World reports that juvenile Painted Redstarts have black and white wings with gray breasts. However, my guess is that the two birds below are juveniles with red feathers just beginning to come into the breasts. 

---

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 2000, +0.33 EV. 

---

Above, a single bird is perched on a branch, taking a break between forays for insects. Below, another Painted Redstart joins him/her. My guess is that these were nest mates last spring now learning the ropes and gaining weight, getting ready for the migration south. 

---

---

---

Above, the bird on the left vocalizes. It looks like a loud squawk!  At my distance, I could not hear anything specific. 

---

---

---

The bird on the right repeats the call. Maybe a dispute over who the branch belongs to. 

---

---

---

After a pause in the action for a few seconds, the bird on the left decides he has had enough, and makes a move for his neighbor, who takes off for another branch, and more food. 

---

---

Painted Redstarts glean insects from leaves, needles, twigs and the surface of tree bark,  but also from hawking - catching insects on the wing. The next sequence shows how this is done!  

For the photo geeks: The sequence below was shot with a newly released Canon R5 Mark II set in Pre-Capture mode. With this setting the camera shifted to electronic shutter at ~30 frames/second and recorded each frame to a 1/2 second continuously rotating buffer as long as I kept the shutter partially depressed. Once the action started, I pressed the shutter down completely and the ~15 frames shot over the previous 1/2 second were recorded to the memory card as shooting continued at ~30 frames per second as long as I kept the shutter depressed. This allowed me to wait until the bird took off to press the shutter, knowing that I would get the gap in the action created by my response time. I recorded multiple flight sequences with the lens zoomed back a bit to allow "room" for the bird in flight, and got lucky with the sequence below. The whole sequence took place within one second and the bird stayed in the frame. The camera's autofocus did a good job of sticking to the bird. 

---

Canon R5 MkII, RF 100-500mm at 300mm, 1/2000 sec, f/6.3, ISO 8000, +0.33 EV. Electronic shutter, pre-capture mode. 

---

A Painted Redstart was hawking for insects in the backyard in Summerhaven, often perching on a tree stump, looking for prey, then launching himself upward. Above, he has spotted a bug, a bright white dot in the upper right corner of the frame, and lifted his left foot. 

Below, he is into the air, the bug now looks like a smudge in the upper right. 

---

---

---

The insect has again caught the light, and our Painted Restart is on the wing. 

---

---

---

Above, the insect is straight above our hunter, as he alters his flight to make the interception.  

Below, he gets closer.

For the photo geeks: In the frame below we can see that the camera's autofocus is following the bird, with the head and eye in focus, but the stump in the background where the bird started now out of focus. 

---

---

Above and below, the insect is pretty sharp, and our predator is closing in.

---

---

---

Above and below, the mouth is open, and lunch is within reach!  Note the somewhat mottled breast, which could be new feathers on a juvenile, or an adult molting. 

For the photo geeks: On electronic shutter at 1/2000 second, there is no appreciable rolling shutter. 

---

---

---

Above and below, GULP!  Down it goes. 

---

---

Painted Redstarts eat primarily insects, and as the insect counts on Mt Lemmon begin to fall in September, the redstarts will start to migrate south to Mexico, following the food. 
​
Chances are these birds will return in the spring to nest. 

---

Redfaced Warblers Also Getting Ready to Leave . . . .

---

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm w 1.4x Ext. at 700 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/10, ISO 4000, +1 EV.

---

Redfaced Warblers winter in southern Mexico migrating north into northern Mexico, southern Arizona and New Mexico to breed. Like the Painted Redstarts, they are insect eaters and ground nesters who prefer the type of riparian habitat we enjoy in Summerhaven and Marshall Gulch. Males and females look alike with the distinctive bright red neck and face with distinctive black markings on the head and cheeks. 

Above and below, adults looking for food in May 2024 amidst breeding and nesting activities.

---

---

Canon R6, RF 100-500mm w 1.4x Ext. at 700 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/10, ISO 16000, +0.33 EV.

---

Above, a male is gathering grasses for a nest in May near the road in Marshall Gulch. By August nesting is over, and both adults and offspring are looking for food to support their ongoing molting activities and to get ready for migration, following the food. 

Below, two images of a Red-faced Warbler foraging for insects in the low understory across from the Cookie Cabin on August 25, 2024.  

---

Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm at 500 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/7.1, ISO 5000, +2 EV.

---

Canon R5 Mk II, RF 100-500mm at 500 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/7.1, ISO 8000, +1 EV.

---

Just like the Painted Redstarts, the Red-faced Warblers will soon be heading south to Mexico, following the food! 

---

That is all for now!  Part 2 is coming soon, more warblers on the mountain, this time in transit, stopping off for a bite on their way down south.

​Happy Trails!

---