The Common Yellowthroat Warbler is not commonly seen by the average homeowner. He’s not a “yard bird”, he lives in the swamp. He likes briars, damp brushy places, weeds, or grass going along country roads (that explains why I like him so much). This species is a year-round resident in our part of Georgia.
Despite his bright feathers, this fellow is hard to spot, flitting about busily as he does. This tiny bird is picturesque, though. So it’s worth the effort to capture his image on film, uh, on a flash card.
These birds don’t come to feeders much, preferring grasshoppers, beetles, spiders over seeds. According to the iBird Pro app, they love sugar water, fruit, and pieces of nuts. That may be worth investigating, but water seems to be a big factor in their habitat. They are most often found near streams, swamps, and marshes.
Jim captured this shot in a remote area near the Ocmulgee River. I printed it on silk fabric, layered it on wool batting, and stitched the background densely. As in Swamp Bird, I stitched with silk thread in closely spaced parallel lines. Then I added a bit of black and white, a yellow fabric frame, and attached it to an old quilt remnant.
I used a lot of Jude Hill’s invisible baste stitch to secure everything without penetrating the final layer of the quilt on the back. I added beads stitched by hand, and made a label from an old doily. 100 weight silk thread was used for machine quilting, 60 weight cotton for the handwork.
The finished piece measures 20” x 16”.
I’ve noticed lately that even though I’ve been designing these pieces by starting from the center and working outward, and beginning with different sized photos or vintage motif, these pieces all seem to end up the same size. I wonder why.
I love this one! Birds are some of my favorites and this is so striking. Beautiful work, as usual, my friend. You have such a gift. It is always a joy to see your quilts.
Thank you, Gail.