Did someone mention CUTE?

I have been on a mission this summer to get some good shots of yellow warblers, and I am happy to report that today I was finally successful (yay, me). However, I never imagined I would ever see a newly fledged baby Yellow Warbler, which is what you have here!! Uber exciting! I went out on my favorite trail very early this morning, hoping to walk out some stress and maybe see something special. I am not sure how I did on the stress, but this little cutie definitely qualifies as something special.

I would not have even noticed this little guy had I not been taking photos of his beautiful yellow dad from a distance of about 20 feet. A small bit of motion at the top of the little tree drew my eye and at first I thought it was some sort of flycatcher --- until I noticed the gigantic mouth, a sure sign of a fledgling. Then I saw the female warbler flitting in to feed this little guy morsels. You can't really tell from this picture, but the little one doesn't have his tail feathers yet - oh man, so CUTE!!

It was a very fruitful day on the trail. I was able to photograph a female Baltimore Oriole feeding nestlings, a very accommodating Eastern Cottontail rabbit eating its veggies and, of course, the Yellow Warblers. And when I got home, I found a big Tiger Swallowtail up to it's ass in my lilies, all covered in pollen. And it's only 1 pm... I've posted 9 of the best shots of the day on Flickr, starting HERE if you'd care to have a look. I've included a few more shots of this adorable baby.

On a sadder note, I learned today that my mom's sister passed away last night. She was in the final stages of Alzheimers - another victim of an awful disease. Please give someone special e a big hug today and be sure to tell them you love them. Life is too short.

xxoo
Debbi