Swainson's Warbler from Kentucky

I found this cooperative bird while scouting for a warbler/migration tour which I recently led through Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan. We saw 38 species of warblers and 190 species overall.

Alongside Connecticut, this is arguably the stealthiest warbler on the continent, so I am stoked with this result. The bird assumed this completely natural perch in response to playback,
and I was quick enough to slide over and position him against a shaded piece of hillside/understory. The OOF bits of the perch aren't ideal, but I'll take it over an artificial set-up shot any day.

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/400 at f/5.6, ISO 1600
Processed in LR CC and Topaz. Did darken the bottom right corner of frame to match the rest.

There were not many good photos of this species until you created this one ...

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Agree with Artie, great shot of a subject rarely seen well represented. Love the perch and the clean background. If I'm being picky I think I'd put the bird a bit more to the left so he has more room to gaze off-frame.

Dorian, this is simply amazing. Great shot of a very elusive warbler. Ditto Artie's comment: there are very few images of the species and I've seen none as good as this. One has been singing from the same corner of the same field at Cape May for the past several springs. Hundreds of folks have reported hearing him, scores (including me) have recorded him: but few have managed to see him. I stood and crawled in the bush for perhaps 30 minutes and managed nothing better than a fleeting glimpse of movement. Congratulations!

Hi Dorian you seem to have done a great job to capture this species ... congrats !!!
Being not a real birder ... i do not get that much excited about this , but can understand folks get excited .

Image looks good in terms of detail , sharpness and the bird set off nicely from the BG .
Are the overall colors realistic ?? The image does carry a lot of yellow tint or tone .... I might be wrong though .

TFS Andreas

Superb for me Dorian. Not sure that I'll ever see one in the wild like this let alone capture it so wonderfully.

Enjoying this blissful frame :cheers: