Fall Warblers on the Move
Palm Warbler / © Bryan Pfeiffer
AH, THE CLEANSING NORTH WINDS OF AUTUMN. They’re bringing us songbirds. On these cooler mornings you’ll find warblers nearly anywhere. So stop before you get into the car for work. Listen for tiny call notes – this chips, peeps, zeets and whits of fall songbird migration. Here’s my warbler haul (16 species) from weekend stops near Little Elmore Pond in Elmore and Peacham Bog in Groton State Forest:
- Northern Parula
- Tennessee Warbler
- Nashville Warbler
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Magnolia Warbler
- Black-throated Blue Warbler (still singing)
- Blackburnian Warbler
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Black-throated Green Warbler (still singing, sort of)
- Palm Warbler
- Pine Warbler
- Bay-breasted Warbler (including an exquisite fall adult male)
- Blackpoll Warbler
- Black-and-white Warbler
- Ovenbird
- Common Yellowthroat
Here’s a Black-throated Blue Warbler in spring. Nice thing about this species is that it looks about the same in the fall. No “confusing fall warbler” here, as Roger Tory Peterson had called them.
4 comments
A 400mm lens really helps, Michele.
Fine ideas, Dudley. We’ve already got a few resources on this. We’ll have to “fact-check” the Flickr group:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/fallwarblers/
And here’s one on WESTERN fall warblers (haven’t found an eastern version yet):
http://blog.press.princeton.edu/2014/09/08/another-free-download-for-west-coast-warblers-from-the-authors-of-the-warbler-guide/
-Bryan
Speaking for the California contingent, I’m green with envy! How about creating a Study Book for fall trips – your best fall photo of every “confusing fall warbler” you’ve ever seen? You can beat all my books and aps, and I might finally learn how to tell some of those lovely – but confusing – easterners apart. I’ll start with this Palm – and thanks for the nudge!
Wow, Brian – You must stand awfully still to get these photos. I’ve been noticing them massing in my woods and verges in Plainfield. Tomorrow morning I’ll see if I can actually identify any of them.