A young orange-crowned warbler rests after being rescued from becoming a morsel for the dog on Aug. 14, 2017, in Salmon, Idaho. (© 2017 Cindi Christie/Cyanpixel)

This tiny bird came to rest on the back deck. It appeared a bit stunned but not with an obvious injury. Maybe it had just left the nest and was making plans for its next adventure. No matter how it came to rest just outside the sliding glass door, I knew that golden retriever Freyja would love to give it a ride in her mouth — especially on the way to her stomach. It didn’t chirp or flutter as I scooped it up and placed it out of harm’s way, but fortunately within range of my camera’s long lens. I am happy to report that it took wing shortly after its modeling session. 

Members of the Idaho Birding group on Facebook didn’t agree at first on what kind of bird it is, but orange-crowned warbler(Oreothlypis celata) got most of the votes. I appreciate that they so readily shared their knowledge and pointed me to some identification tools to use in the future. There are some really fantastic bird photographers in these parts. In my old caption-writing days, given the chance of being incorrect and having to answer phone calls or be the subject of letters to the editor, I would just call it a young bird. What I do know for sure is it didn’t become Freyja’s midday snack. 

Yellow-green and gray feathers are seen on this young bird. (© 2017 Cindi Christie/Cyanpixel)