Bird of the Week: Blue-winged Warbler

Earlier this week I spent some time in Sterling Forest State Park in Orange county, NY to try to photograph some Golden-winged Warblers.  Although I was able to get brief glimpses of one and heard another, the photo opportunities were completely lacking.  But among the 16 species of Warblers I detected in the park (also including Worm-eating, Cerulean, Hooded, Prairie, American Redstart, and Louisiana Waterthrush) my only really good photos came from a very cooperative Blue-winged Warbler along the power line cut at the end of Ironwood Drive.  I also found a color-banded individual.  I hope you enjoy the photos.

This one has color bands.

An Introduction to Fayette County

By Cory DeStein

Hi everybody! My name is Cory DeStein, I am a birder from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I have joined Cory and Luke here as the newest contributor to Boom. Unlike these guys, I actually do not work in the bird field, I am a nurse at a pediatric hospital in Pittsburgh. I bird strictly for hobby! My goal is to be able to share with you all my birding adventures in Pennsylvania, birding trips through out the country, photography, and my amusing adventures with attempting to increase my yard list. 

This spring I have dedicated nearly all of my time birding to Fayette County in the southwest region of Pennsylvania. For the month of May I have reached 90 species for an area, State Game Lands 51 near the town of Dunbar. This large game lands contains rhododendron lined thickets along Dunbar Creek with a nearly 800ft elevation gain to the Zebley Flats area, a primarily secondary growth forest with multiple access roads along the Chestnut Ridge. It's a great area for countless hours of exploring. I began birding this particular patch in 2009 when I first got into birding. I went without any maps or knowledge of the area and began exploring, each day I continue to find new and interesting gems in the massive location. Golden-winged Warblers have bred through out Zebley Flats, and I have had 2 sightings of Northern Goshawk over the years. Mammal highlights have included American Black Bear, Gray Fox, and Fisher! Allegheny Woodrat breeds in the area, but I have not found one...yet! I have also had 9 species of reptile and 7 species of amphibians.

Kentucky Warbler along Dunbar Creek. 

I started the morning off along Dunbar Creek, the drive in was loaded with Kentucky Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Worm-eating Warblers and Wood Thrush. From the parking area I picked up plenty of Magnolia Warblers, Song Sparrow, House Wren, as well as a Great-blue Heron fishing in the creek. Working my way up the ridge through the hemlocks I caught sight of a Swainson's Thrush lurking in the underbrush. Climbing up the ridge I continued to enjoy plenty of Worm-eating Warblers as well as Northern Parula singing from the eastern hemlocks. 

Worm-eating Warbler

At the mid-way point up the mountain you come to a clearing with multiple food plots, fruit trees, and dense underbrush. This has worked out to be one of the better migrant traps I have come across here. Kentucky Warblers continued to call in all directions as well as Louisiana Waterthrush. A Wilson's Warbler popped up from the brush along with the White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows. Red-breasted Nuthatches were calling from the larches a bird I have never had breeding here, but appears that this year they are. Accompanying the nuthatches in the trees were at least 5 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks feeding with the males singing up a storm. Carefully checking the fruit trees I was able to add Magnolia, Nashville, Tennessee, Hooded, Black-and-white, and Black-throated Green Warblers to my day list as well as a nearby singing Winter Wren. 

1 of 5 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in a single tree!

Conquering the final stretch of the climb to the flats I was able to grab Blue-headed, Red-eyed, Yellow-throated and Warbling Vireos as well as Ovenbirds calling non-stop. Upon reaching the top of the ridge I could hear Yellow-billed Cuckoo calling, but it was hot as hell and I wasn't going to go looking for it. Covering just a short distance along the access road the growth along the path was filled with Indigo Buntings, Chestnut sided and Hooded Warblers with plenty of Field and Chipping Sparrows adding to the mix before I ventured back down to my car. I ended today with 62 species during my hike and reached 97 species for SGL 51 this year. 

Chestnut-sided Warbler were EVERYWHERE

The most cooperative Winter Wren

Scarlet Tanager

I hope everyone enjoyed this introduction to me as well as spring birding in Fayette County, I hope to be able to add more from this area (like when I find a Swainson's Warbler!!) and much more! Thanks for reading! 

Photo Quiz 5/7/13 Solution

I sort of realized a day after I posted this and really looked at the photo, that this was a little unfair.  It's hard.  In fact it's so hard that nobody got the answer correct, and the lighting makes the bird's undertail coverts look yellower than they actually are.  I apologize for the extreme difficulty of this quiz, and will try to do better with picking quizes in the future.  But let's take a gander.

The first thing we notice is how bright yellow this bird is, and we can go straight to looking at the wood-warblers.  Remember that this photo was taken in spring so we are looking at a male bird in alternate plumage.  We can rule out a large number of them, and just think about the species with brightly colored breasts and bellies, dark streaking, and tail spots: Magnolia, Cape May, Eastern Palm, Pine, Kirtland's, and Prairie.  Pine Warbler and eastern Palm Warbler do not have black streaking that matches this individual so we can fairly quickly rule those out, leaving only these other four species.

If you clicked on the photo to enlarge you could see somewhat more clearly that the belly itself is pale, and so is much of the undertail coverts, but there is still some yellow-buff coloration posterior to the legs.  Magnolia Warbler has bright white undertail coverts and broad black tips to the rectrices, therefore it is out.  The dark streaking on Kirtland's Warbler really only extends down the sides of the breast and flanks, but this bird has streaking creeping down into the middle of the breast.  Also, the dark tips to the rectrices extend completely around the tip of each rectrix isolating each individual spot unlike Kirtland's which has white extending all the way to the tips.  So Kirtland's is out.

That leaves Prairie and Cape May Warblers.  The dark tips and the streaking can also be used against Prairie Warbler.  Additionally the pale gap in the yellow would be atypical for any Praire Warbler I've ever seen which tend to be fairly bright yellow all the way through the belly. Even the undertail coverts tend to be mostly yellowish.  So I'm going with Cape May, which it is, but I knew the answer ahead of time.  The lighting on the undertail really may not have been sufficient to be certain of an ID.  Thanks for playing.

A much more identifiable image of the Cape May Warbler.  Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA 5/2/13

CORRECTION: CORY RITTER OF BOOM CHACHALACA GOT THE ANSWER RIGHT.  HE IS A BOSS AND A HELLUVA GOOD BIRDER.

A Photo Quiz for Spring

I think it has been long enough that there is a good chance everybody forgot we existed, but have no fear...Here is a photo quiz for all you suffering from warbler neck out there.  Don't look up, just look here.

Photo taken May 2, 2013 at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA by Lukas Musher.

Email your answer to boomchachalaca@gmail.com by Sunday and I'll list the winner's names along with the answer shortly thereafter.

Good luck!

Spring Sprung

By Cory Ritter

Whitefish has nearly gone full circle since I last posted. Dominated by wind and snow, Whitefish resembled the Hoth system more than a raptor migration hotspot. In fact, I was counting an average of fewer than ten raptors per day, and the songbirds were nearly non-existent.

Pine Grosbeak, Whitefish Point, 3/18/2013, one of the relatively few seen before a group of 57 were spotted on the 27th

Warming up a bit...

Ahh... Maximum insulation

Common Redpoll, Whitefish Point, 3/25/2013, increasing in numbers over the past 10 days

Common Redpoll, Whitefish Point, 3/25/2013

However, that all changed on Thursday and Friday. The sun was out, snow was melting, and birds were flying. It was glorious. While the season total for raptors after Wednesday sat at a modest 111, the 45 on Thursday and 50 for Friday quickly brought that up to a respectable 206. So, nearly doubling the count in two days provided some welcomed excitement. And as if that wasn't enough, Pine Siskins, Red Crossbills, Snow Buntings, American Robins, and Sandhill Cranes jumped into the mix over the past couple days.

During this push of raptors, Bald Eagle was clearly the dominant species, accounting for 68 of the 95 raptors counted Thursday and Friday. Nevertheless, there were many other highlights including a kettle of goshawks and the arrival of two new species--Red-shouldered Hawk and Turkey Vulture.

One of the many adult Bald Eagles passing by Whitefish this season, 3/26/2013

Bald Eagle staring contest...and...GO

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, 3/28/2013

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, 3/28/2013

Adult Red-tailed Hawk, Whitefish Point, 3/29/2013

Though first-spring may have been short-lived here at Whitefish, as a front is moving through this weekend. It will be bringing rain and snow, and leaving behind colder, sub-freezing temperatures. Hopefully the birds will not retreat in the face of this 'indian-winter', and hopefully spring will soon return once again.

More Winter in Whitefish

By Cory Ritter

This is the forecast for Whitefish Point from Monday night, and it hasn't let us down yet. We had about about 6 inches over Monday night and Tuesday, and there is more on the way!

One can't complain about this weather too much when at a hawk count site, because it is often associated with charismatic birds. And, this time is no exception. While we were limited to three species for the first three days of the count (Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, and Red-tailed Hawk), Monday brought the fourth.

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, MI, 3/18/2013

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, MI, 3/18/2013

Out of focus, but one of the only head-on shots, 3/18/2013

Tuesday wasn't quite as nice as Monday. I awoke to a heavy snow that would deter most from trudging up to the count platform. However, I've learned from some of the best that it has to be some really bad weather to stop all of the birds. So, I headed up to the platform during the peak hours, in the heavy snow, to see what was flying.

Keeping warm and stopping the snow from jabbing me in the eye

As one would expect, there were no signs of life. It was 45 minutes before I saw my first bird--a single Common Raven. So, I stood and searched through my snow covered bins in vain.

Whup..whats that..

My fruitless efforts were no more, as a pair of Golden Eagles became visible off in the distance through the thick snow. I thought my day might just be turning around considering I just came across a new season high golden count; however, the birds we gone as quickly as they had appeared, and just then, the snow picked up. I waited in solitude for another bird to appear, but even the lone raven was nowhere to be seen. As it became near white-out conditions, I decided to head down and try my luck tomorrow.

Return to Whitefish

By Cory Ritter



This is my first post in...a really long time, and there is good reason for it. I'm back in Whitefish Point for my second season as the spring hawk counter!

The weather this year couldn't be more different from the last. I arrived to a virtually snow-less point last March with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. It was really quite the welcome to the Upper Peninsula. However, just as I had suspected, it was all part of some twisted conspiracy to influence me to come back another season. And it worked! I have come back for my second season, and this time I have been welcomed by snow, frigid temperatures, and unrelenting winds. The roughly three feet of snow on the ground (and the hawk platform walkway) must not have been enough because it has snowed an additional 8+ inches since I arrived.

The view towards the Northeast from the count platform, 3/15/2013

One of the few birds at the feeders behind the gift shop, 3/15/2013

 On the bright side, the snow cover should help light up those birds and make for some great (decent) photography. Oh, and I'll be able to put my new cross-country skis to good use!

Moving right along, the season started on Friday the 15th. I haven't been too surprised by the fact that the first two days have been quite slow. Ten raptors flew by on Friday and just six on Saturday. Bald Eagles have made up  the bulk of the count with seven on Friday and four on Saturday, but I've also seen two Red-tailed Hawks and one Golden Eagle to keep things interesting.

Probably the closest raptor of the season, this young Bald Eagle flew by on March 16, 2013

Last year, the winter finches were around by the hundreds right at the beginning of the season; however, it appears  many still have yet to make their way back through Whitefish this season, as I have only seen a flock of about twenty to twenty-five Common Redpolls and a group of roughly ten Pine Grosbeaks thus far.

Just as I was, this Common Redpoll is staying warm in the snow, 3/15/2013

It is clearly early in the season, and things will surely pick up as time goes on. I'm sure you're just as interested to see how things unfold up here at Whitefish Point after a more normal winter, so don't forget to keep checking back throughout the season!