Birds and backdrops

I was walking to the subway early the other morning. A few yards away from the station entrance , I noticed a small, colorful bird hopping around in an oak tree that I was passing. The bird fluttered to the ground, nearly at my feet. It was a Black-throated Green Warbler, who had been chasing an insect, and caught it on the sidewalk in front of me.

Photo by Steve Nanz

Sitting on a concrete sidewalk, adjacent to a parked car seemed to accentuate the beauty of the delicate, vibrant animal. I've seen Black-throated Green Warblers thousands of times, and they always brighten my day, but in that moment, in those surroundings, he was exceptional. For some reason, had he popped up in front of me only one block east, in Prospect Park, I don't think it would have stopped me in my tracks.

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"