ML35104891

Age and sex

Unknown age, Female - X

Media notes

Hooded Warbler at Barka Slough, Santa Barbara County, CA

Observation details

Initially heard calling from a small patch of willows on the south side of San Antonio Rd East near 3.19 mile marker. The call sounded like California Towhee or maybe Blue Grosbeak - a thin, high "chink" or "pink" was given a few times. It did not sound familiar to me as a warbler call note. As I approached the willows I saw a yellow and green warbler in the lower 1/3 of the growth but deep inside and mostly concealed by leaves. It then moved up to a more exposed branch where I quickly saw the yellow face, black bill and noted the darker olive crown and grayish nape with a contrasting grayish line around the yellow face from the crown around the auriculars and continuing below the cheek. This formed a weak hooded appearance on the bird's head. There was a weak grayish-olive collar extending below the cheek onto the sides of the neck. The upper parts were bright olive-green and the under parts were yellow to the under tail coverts. It had no wing bars. Legs and feet were pinkish. I could only make out that the tail was closed and olive-green above but I could not see the underside nor did it spread its tail during the brief time I saw it. I attempted to photograph it but it remained concealed and partly covered by foliage so the photos are not telling, although white edges to the retrices can be made out in a couple of the photos. Total viewing time was approx 10 seconds. It was then chased out of the willows by a Wilson's Warbler where I lost it. It could not be refound and did not respond to playback.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

ISO

100

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/160 sec

Dimensions

2000 pixels x 1333 pixels

Original file size

1.22 MB