Having a black & white warbler in a black & white image seemed appropriate, and stylistically it worked out, since the sun was directly behind this tree while I was photographing, causing the background sky to blow-out entirely, and appear white.
I found this guy after moving on from my encounter with the chestnut-sided warblers; the little black & white warbler was moving between trees at the edge of the woodline, where the trail dives into the forest. I tracked him through a few trees before he settled on this one, moving up the trunk and along the larger branches as he hunted for insects.
The two photos above came before, and after, the black & white styled image at top. I worked with this warbler for as long as he was interested in remaining nearby/tolerating me, which is my go-to process. For the most part, once he settled in hunting he ignored me; there was enough distance through the scrub between us that he felt secure. From what I saw, he was a successful hunter – you can see some kind of insect in his beak in the top photo if you look closely, and I witnessed him find and consume several.
Watching birds hunt for insects is a fascinating reminder of how limited out own sense are. While I know that there are any hundreds – or even thousands – of insects in the trunk, branches, and crown of a tree, I imagine I’d be hard-pressed to spot a dozen of them, much less catch them. So to watch a songbird work its way along a branch and find one after the other, and gobble them down, feels remarkable…and a little humbling. There is so much in the world around us that we simply miss, because it’s not important to our brains, or we’re simply not aware enough to look for it.