While birding at Yates Mill Park, I heard a familiar sound coming from the trees.
“Zzzeee-ssup”…
I smiled and raised my camera and twisted the ring on my lens zooming in to search the branches for the bird responsible for the song.
Zzzeeee-ssup!
There it was, a male Northern Parula singing his little heart out in the mid canopy of a nearby tree.

It was cloudy and a little dark on this morning so I had to hurry to set my cameras exposure & ISO to brighten the scene in order to catch a few photos of this marvelous feathered gem before he disappeared into the leaves.
I pursed my lips and gave out a quick “pish, pishshsh” call to coax the little bird out from behind a leaf.
From there, I had just a few seconds to snap off some shots as he popped out onto an unobscured branch, looked me over, them called back at me.
Zzzeeee-ssup!
Swipe to the second photo to see him in full song, tongue out and all lol!

The Northern Parula is a somewhat common sight here in central North Carolina. These are the smallest species of eastern wood-warbler and although it is an energetic (and kind of noisy) bird, their habit of foraging in the high canopy of trees makes it a difficult Warbler to observe.
Look for them in deciduous forests, bogs, swampy areas and anywhere there is water nearby. They are best located by listening for that distinctive call overhead.
Northern Parulas will stick around the Triangle through mid October so there is still plenty of time to see them. Get out there and enjoy them while you can!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame SLR, the @canonusa
#5Ds