The Return Of The Yellow Warblers

I am writing this post in reverse chronological order starting with Sunday evening. It 's been about 5 years since I took my first walk with the sole intention of looking for birds. My first birding spot was a trail that runs along the Connecticut River that is within walking distance from my house. One of my first great revelations came when I discovered there were tiny yellow birds with thin red streaks on their breasts living in the bushes near the river.

I carefully searched through my first real field guide, Peterson's Birds of Eastern and Central America, to try to find the identity of these tiny yellow birds. It didn't take long to figure out that these birds were Yellow Warblers. Where the heck did they come from? It amazed me to think that these birds had been around my whole life and I was just now seeing them.

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Sunday, I walked the same trail that I did five years ago and was happy to see that these warblers were back again; right on schedule. One of the things I like about them is that they like to hang out in thickets, which means I don't have to strain my neck looking up into the tops of trees to see them. I also heard a Wood Thrush singing from somewhere deep within the bushes. This is another bird that seems to come back to this area every year, which surprises me considering the patch of woods along this trail is very small.

There is a private field adjacent to The Portland Riverfront Trail that is often flooded, as it was this past Sunday. A quick scan of the flooded area revealed 2 Greater Yellowlegs and one Solitary Sandpiper, which is less common in Connecticut. The Solitary Sandpiper has a dark back, greenish legs, and a distinct white eye ring. There was also a Red-tailed Hawk circling over the field as well as a pair of Wood Ducks hiding in the weeds on the opposite side of the flooded field.

---------------------Can You Name The Plant In This Photo?

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Hartford Audubon had a field trip scheduled for Sunday morning at Gay City State Park. This park has a strange and interesting history that you can read about here. This is a wonderful park to bird in. It has well maintained trails with bridges to lead you over the streams. It also contains a pond and some interesting boggy areas. Some of the birders who came along for this field trip were also interested in plants.

The trip leader was under the assumption that his trip would be rained out since it was pouring as late as 6am in the morning. To his surprise, six hardy birders showed up for his trip any way.

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Birding was a bit slow, possibly due to the weather conditions. There wasn't a lot of bug activity and it was a bit chilly. Although the sun didn't come out, the rain held off for the entire trip. I did see my first of the year Black-throated Green Warbler, which was singing its zee- zee- zee- zee- zoo- zee song. We also saw a couple of thrushes. One of them appeared to be a Veery and the other a Hermit Thrush. We all had nice looks at a Yellow-throated Vireo as well.

------ ---------------What Is This Thing?

Saturday, I went on another field trip sponsored by Hartford Audubon at Machimoudus Park in East Haddam. Interestingly, I met a birder named Ed who reads my blog on occasion. It was fun to have him join us for the field trip. It is his hand that holds that strange looking...that's the problem, "What is it?"

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We had to work for the birds we saw, but in the end it turned out to be productive day. We had excellent views of an Orchard Oriole and Baltimore Oriole in the same flower-covered tree right next to the parking area. Orchard Orioles are uncommon in Connecticut, but they seem to be doing well at Machimoudus Park. We were able to patiently pick out an Ovenbird that was well-camouflaged amongst the fallen leaves. We had a great view of its striped head and breast. It took us a while, but we finally tracked down a singing Prairie Warbler. For some of the birders that was the highlight of the day. Adrian, the trip leader, was talking about how a Pileated Woodpecker has been taunting him at this park. He could see evidence of its holes all around and would often hear its rambunctious call. On this day he, along with most of the group, had a nice view of the bird at the top edge of a hill. I also saw my first of the year Scarlett Tanager.

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I believe the total number of species seen or heard was 53. Other birds of note included a Barred Owl (calling), Yellow-throated Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Parula, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Wood Thrush, Pine Warbler, Eastern Bluebird, Great Blue Heron, Tree Swallows, and Eastern Phoebe.

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There was one last surprise at the end of the day. Just as many of us were getting into our cars to leave, I heard someone say "Peregrine Falcon flying overhead!" We watched it soar with its pointed wings slicing rapidly through the sky. It was a great way to end the morning!

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What was the first warbler you ever identified yourself?