End of September and a First of Fall Species

I've had high hopes for seeing fall Warblers this year especially since getting my new zoom lens. While in fact I have seen a fair amount of species moving back south, it just doesn't compare to spring and has been much more sporadic. Seeing as how the month was nearing to a close, I took my fold-up hunting stool with me to the park today and walked way back into the woods to sit and see what I could find. There were indeed a few quick moving little Warblers about as well as the even smaller and quicker Ruby-crowned Kinglets. But none of them would sit still long enough for me to get any photos. Such is the challenge of bird photography and a constant reminder of why it is so rewarding when you do get the shot. After chasing one particular little blur, I spotted something else climbing up the trunk of a wide tree. I thought maybe a Black-and-white Warbler but this was even smaller. Indeed it was a Brown Creeper, my first-of-fall or "FOF" as I've learned to call it. But to my surprise, a second Creeper was on the same trunk and a little higher up, blending perfectly into the bark of the tree. I've never actually seen two like this and I was even able to get them both in the same photo which was great. After another few minutes of chasing blurry birds I decided I'd had enough and hiked out onto the paved trails. Along the north side of the park, a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak landed briefly. I swung around with my big lens and quickly took a few images while some nearby park-goers likely wondered what the heck was so interesting. I always love seeing the males but wow, this was one of the prettier looking females I've seen in some time. I was close enough to see the rusty-orange flanks and boldly striped head that make this bird so noticeable. As always it is the females that I see much more frequently than the males. Further along I picked up a Palm Warbler near the baseball fields on the east side. The behavior was in keeping with many other Palms I see whereas it was in some low hanging branches over the trail and then would dip down onto the green grass to search for insects. Many of my Palm Warbler photos are much the same and show the bird on green grass like this only feet or sometimes inches from the paved trails. Palm Warblers in the fall can look a little nondescript but have two clues that give them away. First if you are able to see them from the back or underneath, they have a warm yellow patch on the bottom side of their butt. Different from a "Butterbutt" aka as a Yellow-rumped Warbler which shows a very bright yellow patch on the top part of their butt and generally only when in flight. The other clue for a Palm Warbler is the fact that they constantly bob their tail up and down, especially while perched or even walking. This is probably the more noticeable trait. Other birds seen today included White-throated Sparrows, Bald Eagle, Mallard and Hairy Woodpecker.