If you’ve ever encountered a Common Yellowthroat, you know they’re fantastic little warblers. The males sport an absolutely perfect bandit mask, and maybe it’s just me, but I think pretty much every animal with one of those looks ten times cooler! From wood frogs and raccoons to ferrets and Cedar Waxwings, many creatures possess this striking facial feature.
Though tiny, these warblers seem blessed with a huge personality. I’d describe them as fussy little birds that you hear much more than you see—maybe not at the level of a wren, but not far off. Their “wichity-wichity-wichity” call is a regular feature of fields and thickets in the spring, summer and fall. Despite this loud and easily identified call, they are definite skulkers, especially the females, whose less bright plumage and lack of facial mask make them particularly tough to spot in the dense foliage. On the plus side, this species seems remarkably curious. I can often entice them to flush out by “pishing,” the birder’s technique of making high-pitched squeaky sounds to mimic a bird in distress. (This approach should be used with caution at certain times of year.)
Although I see these all the time here in Central Michigan, this is my first time painting one! A quick mental tally suggests I’ve rendered about 27 North American warbler species, give or take one or two, with some favorites revisited multiple times. My choice of subject hinges on capturing the right photo references during my birding outings, and the image for this painting came from a collection I took on a winter photo trip to Florida with my brother Ted. That adventure was fantastic for adding life birds to my list and capturing a ton of photos, but as always, spending a week laughing and hanging out with a sibling was even better.
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Here are some links of note, including a couple of new ones:
- NEW! The Birder Gift Shop, featuring Bohan Art on a handful of POD items, with more to come
- Bohan Art’s print-on-demand shop
- Bohan Art newsletter
- Bohan Art Blog RSS feed
- Bohan Art social media
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