yellow bird

[insanityslave 50]

again seen last week in ne michigan

saw this guy across the river (so heavy crop). watched him for a long time and got some pics. none of them are very good and all are attached. when i saw him fly from one bush to another it very much *seemed* he had black his head that also covered its face and cheeks... perhaps the throat too? definitely yellow on lower neck/belly. through the binoculars it seemed a lot more brown than black (on its wings).  other yellow birds i positively identified in the area are: common yellowthroat, american goldfinch, yellow warbler, american redstart.  at the time i very much felt like this bird was NOT any of those. he was behind branches the whole time he was still, of course, and i only got a good look as he flew for a brief second. hoped the pics would turn out something, but alas...

any help is appreciated.

thanks!

[akandula 2,804]

Oriole?

[blackburnian 1,185]

That was my thought, Baltimore. 

[insanityslave 50]

6 hours ago, akandula said:

Oriole?

 

6 hours ago, blackburnian said:

That was my thought, Baltimore. 

ah. could very well be. it was down the road about a half mile from my dads house and hes seen baltimores around.

thanks!

[Benjamin 764]

It's hard to tell if the bird is entirely yellow (and the right hue!) below as there are portions of the photo which are blown out, but it certainly seems as if it is which would suggest Orchard, which was my first impression simply due to the habitat. That said, it does appear that Orchard is less common in Michigan, particularly the further north you go, so I don't know how reasonable that species is in this specific location.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Benjamin