American Redstart {Setophaga ruticilla}

Wow what a gorgeous bird Len. I love the contrasting colors and this is a different POV, like you kind of snuck up on him. A very nice image.

Best Always,

Holger

I've never seen one of these before, excellent catch... Mike

I did indeed kind of sneak up him.  I was on a nature path by the river and heard him first.  He was only about 15 ft. away.  Armed with my 55-200 mounted on a D5100 I proceeded to take a few shots. (had the camera set for continuous firing).  Got half a dozen shots before he took off, this one being my favourite for the action of singing portrayed.  Thanks for your visit & comment.  Best, LM.

I had never seen one before either.  Thought at first it might have been an Oriole or midget Red Winged Blackbird.  (can you tell I'm new to 'birding'?) I was strolling along the nature path, camera in one hand, salt shaker in the other (Mom always told me if I wanted to catch a bird I had to shake salt on it's tail) and decided to take photos first.  That spooked the bird & left me with a useless salt shaker.  Next time I'll reverse the procedure.  Apparently these birds range over most of North America so although you've never seen one they may well be in your neighborhood.  Thanks for the visit.  Best, LM.

This is   a real success !with all  the tree parts around..  and still the bird has all the details and especially the contrasting orange/ black colors, creating a real nice result!

For me, the pay off for a walk along a nature path.  An incentive to chase more successes and, as a side benefit, perhaps lose some excess pounds in the process.  :-)  It was a double win as I do not recall ever having seen this species of bird before.  Thanks for taking the time to view & comment.  It's a major reason I post here.  Best, LM.