Hooded Warbler

One of my recent hikes on South River Falls Trail (back in May) yielded the usual menagerie of spring migrants, including some that nest in the mountains of Virginia. One species in particular that nests in Shenandoah National Park is Hooded Warbler.

At the very start of my most recent visit, Tammy and I came across a Hooded Warbler that appeared to be gathering nesting material. I took several photos of the bird as it moved about the bushes very close to the ground. It was quite shady in those spots, so I set the ISO on my camera up to 400 in an attempt to compensate for the low light. When the bird suddenly perched in direct sunlight, I had time to snap several pictures that turned out to be above average. Unfortunately I did not have a chance to readjust the ISO back down to 100 before taking these, so they are a bit overexposed. But I will take what I can get :-)