Let's talk about technical issues first. I own a camera that is already quite old and that at any moment is going to ‘sing’... it won't do it exactly like the Candelita (American redstart) that seems to give little kisses when it sings, I still think they are little kisses, of those tender ones, that almost don't sound. When my Panasonic Lumix G10 ‘sings’ it will do it silently and it will stay in the dark. Poor thing... I thank him for all the time he has been in my life, since 2008 and because through our understanding I think I have advanced a little in photography.
This morning I greeted the sun in my backyard, as I do every day, but there was a moment when I put my coffee aside to pay attention to this beautiful bird that I told you is known as Candelita. She came to say hello too.
His behaviour is strange, he seems to suffer from a certain nervousness. It goes from one branch to another, and it moves without stopping, to the point that I thought it would not give me a chance to enter the house, look for the camera and introduce the right values to be able to take a portrait of it. As you can see, it's a lot of steps to do and probably when I returned with the old Panasonic, this restless bird would already be far away from the Guanábana (soursop) tree.
I told you that I was going to address, first of all, technical issues. As the day is cloudy and the sun only comes out occasionally and spends most of the time hidden behind the clouds, the light is not intense in my backyard. Add to that the fact that the trees are lush and provide a lot of shade. So taking a portrait of a fast moving bird is a difficult task when you can't and shouldn't turn up the ISO of the camera to more than 400. Even at 800 it gives a noise that I don't like at all. I have a 45-200 zoom lens with a maximum aperture of 4.0 and when you zoom in you can't go below 5.6. So this adds more complication to the photo, because there, at 5.6, it allowed me to take the photo with 1/200 s speed, which is not so suitable to freeze the movements of this little bird, I repeat, very restless. Even so, I managed to get these two photos... raising the speed a bit would take light away from the scene and then in editing I would have to solve it... there are many technical things that perhaps those who are not photographers would not understand. Beyond these issues of aperture, speed and ISO, there is the focus, which the camera is having trouble focusing. Add to that the fact that the Guanábana tree has a lot of leaves and branches that get in the way. In short... the scenario for photographing Candelita is complex and extreme.
Oooops... it flew! 😀
Thank you Universe that still remained there in the tree flying from one branch to another, not standing still for a second, madre del amor hermoso! 😂
It is a scrubland bird, measuring 11 to 14 cm (4.3 to 5.5 inches) in total length and has a wingspan of 16 to 23 cm (6.3 to 9.1 inches). I have done some research on a few sites and it also says that it weighs slightly less in winter than in summer. I guess it does not find the same amount of food at this time of year, as it feeds on insects such as caterpillars, moths, flies, flies, leafhoppers, small wasps, beetles, aphids and spiders.
This Candelita looks very fit. 😄
It seems that the bird also consumes berries and seeds, but it knows about diets. Some things are fattening, such as oatmeal. This has nothing to do with anything here, but I saw it yesterday on an Instagram reel. I need to eat oatmeal.
If you look closely at that picture above she was shaking her little head, I don't know how I managed to take a decent picture of her with this camera which offers so few possibilities for bird photography.
Talking about looking closely... well, you see, not even to look closely, it doesn't stand quietly on a branch. By the way, what would it be looking at?
I imagine it was thinking about what that long black thing was that I had in my eyes pointing at. Candelita does not understand my behaviour, nor do I understand hers or his. 🤣
I didn't want to keep stalking portraying the cute little bird and I took one more picture and kept myself, along with my camera.
Anyway, she or he was leaving.
🤔 And I really don't know if this warbler was female or male. I think it was a male, now looking at this Wikipedia page.
Original content by @nanixxx. All rights reserved ©, 2025.
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