American Redstart Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: One of the more common warbler species we see in South Dakota, and one that stays around and breeds here in the summer, yet they are a warbler! That means they're constantly on the move. For American Redstarts, it's usually relatively low in the canopy or in shrubs, so at least they're often "in range" of a photo. But when I say "constantly on the move", I mean it! And not only are they physically flitting from location to location, but they have the habitat of continually shifting in place while perched in ONE spot, including the fanning of the tail behavior that characterizes the species. That means even when you do get a chance to trigger a photo, oftentimes it's blurred because of the bird moving in place. Fortunately, given they are relatively common, I've had plenty of chances to try to shoot them over the years. My favorite photo is the one below, from May 16th, 2020 at Beaver Creek Nature Area near Brandon, South Dakota.

American Redstart - Setophaga ruticilla


American Redstart 1 June 3rd, 2007 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	American Redstart 2 August 28th, 2009 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	American Redstart 3 May 12th, 2011 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	American Redstart 4 June 3rd, 2007 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota

American Redstart 5 June 3rd, 2007 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	American Redstart 6 (Female) June 20th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	American Redstart 7 June 8th, 2008 Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota	American Redstart 8 August 28th, 2009 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota

American Redstart 9(Female) May 26th, 2011 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	American Redstart 10(Female) May 26th, 2011 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	American Redstart 11 (Female) May 17th, 2013 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	American Redstart 12 (Female) June 20th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota

American Redstart 13 May 16th, 2020 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	American Redstart 14 May 16th, 2020 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	American Redstart 15 May 21st, 2020 Outdoor Campus, Sioux Falls, South Dakota	American Redstart 16 May 21st, 2020 Outdoor Campus, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

American Redstart 17 May 21st, 2020 Outdoor Campus, Sioux Falls, South Dakota	American Redstart 18 May 21st, 2020 Outdoor Campus, Sioux Falls, South Dakota	American Redstart 19 May 21st, 2020 Outdoor Campus, Sioux Falls, South Dakota