At least some of the warblers from yesterday’s impressive influx remain in Sapsucker Woods on Monday – two BAY-BREASTED WARBLERS, at least two BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS, two juvenile CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS, and an AMERICAN REDSTART. I also saw a juvenile BROAD-WINGED HAWK circling over the main pond.
On each of my three recent visits to the sanctuary, the hotspot for warblers has been along the road and the East Trail, between the gated trailheads and 91 Sapsucker Woods Road. I think that the noise of teeming family groups of titmice, chickadees, and nuthatches might be attracting incoming migrants. It is definitely worthwhile to follow your ears to the flocks here. Be ready for swarms of voracious cloth-penetrating mosquitoes. Yesterday’s Bay-breasted Warbler got an eBird quality-control prompt, but today’s did not. Still, today’s birds were actually much more surprising to me because of their plumages, which looked plainly like those of a spring adult male (solid black face, bay crown and throat, contrasting cream-colored neck patch) and a spring adult female (muted black face, trace of chestnut along throat down to sides, also with contrasting pale neck patch). I don’t recall previously seeing Bay-breasted Warblers looking like this in fall – especially not the one in breeding male plumage. Given that yesterday’s bird had the more expected greenish face and back, I feel certain that there have been at least three individual Bay-breasted Warblers in this area over these two days. By the way -- since yesterday, people have collectively found at least 18 warbler species in Sapsucker Woods – Bay-breasted (1 adult M, 1 apparent adult F, 1 first-year), Cape May (1 adult M, 1 first-year F), Blackburnian (multiple individuals across full range of plumages, including adult males in near-peak brightness), Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Blue-winged, Tennessee (1 adult M, 1 first-year), Nashville, Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Hooded, Canada (both sexes), and Common Yellowthroat. What a great start to this season of songbird migration! Mark Chao -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
