Say hello to Butter Butt

Before 2020 and the lock downs I wasn’t much into bird photography; that was DH’s thing. But when being inside with DH all the time finally got to me I decided to venture out into nature with him to try bird photography.

And I was hooked!

I went from knowing the basics about birds to now being able to recognize a Coot from a Gallinule and a Red headed duck from a Canvas back duck. By the way, I never knew there were so many different species of ducks out there!

Last year was my first year to learn about warblers and their migration. Lucky for us, they happen to make a pit stop here in Ohio before heading off to Canada for breeding season. It’s such a big deal that there is an entire week devoted to it in May and it really is a big deal! Last year while the birders were there (including us for the first time) the big festival wasn’t. It returns this year, read about it here.

Only one potential issue. The boardwalk and area where the birds and birders all congregate was hit hard by a big storm last year with trees knocked down and lots of damage so things may be a bit different. But there are plenty of places along the Erie shore where the birds hopefully will be if not so much around the boardwalk. So what’s a butter butt?

Last year was a learning curve for me with photographing warblers. They are little, quick and tend to hide high in trees or deep in the leaves. But I did get some shots which I will share hopefully soon. Thanks to the app Ebird and many fellow birders on the boardwalk, I learned not only where the birds were (I was terrible at spotting them) but their names as well…and that’s where butter butt makes its appearance.

This bird’s real name is the Yellow Rumped Warbler, I’m assuming it’s because besides the yellow patch on the head it also has one on its rump. Birders have nicknamed it – you guessed it – butter butt!

Teri 📷