By Sally Siko

One of the prettiest autumn migrants that I look forward to seeing each year are the Yellow Warblers.
It’s neat to be able to catch a good look at these vibrantly colored beauties hunting for insects in a stand of trees along the shoreline.

Although yellow warblers, maintain their aptly named overall color throughout the year, there is a shift in the intensity of their hue as the seasons change.
As seen in the first two photos above, the yellow feathers become somewhat muted, and the males will lose the red streaks on their bellies entirely.
Compare that to the photo below which shows a breeding male in April.
Can you see the difference?

Yellow Warblers are true omnivores and are able to adapt their diets to suit the bounty of a given season.
During the spring and summer, their diet is based on insects such as leafhoppers, beetles, wasps, midges and caterpillars. They are often seen hovering over tree branches as they glean to catch the flash of light reflecting off of an insect’s wings.
When the weather cools, berries and fruits may also be consumed during the autumn winter months to supplement their normal diet when insects are scarce.

Unfortunately these gorgeous birds won’t be in North Carolina much longer as they’ll soon migrate to locations in Central America and northern South America to spend the winter.
If you missed them this year, no worries they will be back again here in the Tarheel State sometime around mid April.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds