American Redstart: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2023 — There were lots of American Redstarts at Magee this year while I was there. The problem was not finding a good photo opportunity, the problem is choosing which of the good photos to share. This was taken when the sun was high so the light is not ideal, but still…who can pass up another Redstart! OM System OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving bird modifications. Processed in Pixomator Pro. ISO 320 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th. -.3EV

Palm Warbler: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2023 — Another warbler that I expected to see more of this year at Magee was the Palm. Generally they pass thought in large numbers, but this year they were few. Maybe it was just the timing. OM System OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 640 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th. -.3EV

Bay-breasted Warbler: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2023 — Not my best ever shot of a Bay-breasted Warbler, but they were scarce while I was on the Erie Shore this year. I think they may have come through in numbers after I left. Still, a good bird to encounter anytime. OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 200 @ f7.1 @ 1/1000th, -.3EV (in full noon-day sun).

Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Board Walk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2023 — Tired of Prothonotary Warblers yet? This is what we might call full song…or maybe shouting out loud! And again, this bird was right beside the boardwalk. I only see them at Magee, so I have to get my full of Prothonotaries while I can. OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th, -.3EV.

Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2023 — The Prothonotary Warblers nest in Magee Marsh, many of them close to the boardwalk…and at least one pair in a post on the boardwalk…the rangers have to put up “crime scene tape” every year to keep the birders at least a foot away…and still the warblers nest there. They are easy to see, complexity fearless, and close! Some years they are just arriving at the end of the Biggest Week…but this year, strange year that it was, there were at least 3 pairs already nesting near the boardwalk (and another pair on the boardwalk a the Nature Center at Maumee Bay). And I am sure many other pairs nesting out of sight. This one was singing happily only a yard or so from the boardwalk. Gotta love them! OM-Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving bird modifications. ISO 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th. -.3EV.

American Redstart: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2023 — You had to wonder how the major blow-down that decimated the cottonwood canopy at Magee Marsh would effect the birds use of the area during migration. And certainly there have been changes over the past two years in the timing and staging of the migration at Magee…but the main change has been for photographers. Before the blow-down the light at Magee was challenging under the canopy…not, not so much so. Sunlight reaches right down to ground level and spotlights skulking birds like this American Redstart. 🙂 While I suspect the blow-down had a major impact on insect life in the marsh, evidently there are still enough bugs to attract the avian visitors in the spring. OM System OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving birds modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 250 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th. -.3EV.

Chestnut-sided Warbler: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2023 — Some years the Chestnut-sided Warblers are so thick at Magee Marsh that they dominate all other species…and the are feeding down so low and so close that it is hard to get them in frame when taking a photo. Not this year! While I was there they were few in number and all feeding high in the canopy. Most of my shots you can not see the yellow crown at all, they are taken at such a sharp upward angle. OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 200 @ f9 @ 1/1250th. -.7EV

Blackburnian Warbler: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2023 — The Blackburnian Warbler is almost certainly my favorite Warbler, especially when it is in fresh spring plumage as it is when it reaches Magee Marsh on the Erie Shore. It burns like an ember in the trees. They tend to arrive late in Ohio, so I was surprised to find this one my first day at Magee. Turns out the migration is all jumbled up this year, again, so maybe we are looking at a developing new normal. This bird was high in the foliage, above the deck where the observation tower used to stand. These shots, taken with the OM Systems OM-1 and the 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent, were further copped and enlarged using the super-resolution tool in Pixomator Pro. As above in Program with my evolving bird modifications. ISO 200 @ f7.1 @ 1/1000th.

Yellow Warbler: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2023 — Here is male Yellow Warbler doing what it does best…sitting out in the open and singing at the top of it lungs! This is certainly a bright spring bird, ready for breeding. OM Systems OM-1 with 100 to 400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving birds modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 250 @ f6.3 @ 1/640, -.7EV

American Redstart: female, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio. USA, May 2023 — I encountered this female American Redstart on my first trip around the boardwalk at Magee…before I saw any males. The female is, of course, just as striking as the male, just with yellow replacing the orange and the addition of the white bib. And of course, they share the same long tail with the flashy outer tail feathers. OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my evolving bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/640th. -.7EV.