A Warbler That Refuses To be Ignored

The Yellow Warbler is one of the most commonly seen warblers in Connecticut this time of year. The males are bright yellow with black beady eyes, and red streaking on the breast. They move around a lot from bushes to tree branches and back again.

Yellow Warblers are a frequent target of Brown-Headed Cowbirds who lay their eggs in the warbler's nest so that their young can be raised by the warblers. The Yellow Warblers fight this forced adoption system by covering the cowbird eggs with another layer of nest and then lay a fresh batch of their own eggs.

These birds are not shy. If they are around you will most likely hear them and see them which is a treat much like their song.....sweet, sweet, sweet, sweeter than sweet!  
 

If Elves Exist They Might Live Here

I visit the Sexton Hill Preserve several times a year. It's not because it's big or has the most birds. I like it here because it has just the right combination of forest, falls, moss, and rock that give the place a mystical quality.

I do find Acadian Flycatchers here which are one of the trickier flycatchers to find. The birds here are more often heard than seen but that's okay.

 If I believed in elves, fairies, and leprechauns this is the first place I would search for them. I could imagine that Robert Plant might have been in a place like this when he wrote the words to Stairway To Heaven. 

Veery Cooperative Butterfly

This turned out to be the week when I couldn't avoid seeing first of the year species if I wanted to, and why would I want to? My list jumped from 100 species seen in my county for the year to 135 within a span of about a week.

 Above is my first veery of the year seen at Miller's Pond. I was the only one at the park. It was my 134th species seen this year in my county. I try to stay local so I won't burn much gas. This bird was Very cooperative. I followed it as it jumped to the ground for bits of food and then back into the base of Mountain Laurel. I followed it for a good 10 minutes for a distance of about 30 feet talking to it along the way- (Yes, I know birds can't understand me but it seemed we had an understanding).

I don't spend too much time chasing butterflies but if they pose then I'll snap a shot. This is one of those tiny blue butterflies. I know that the name of this species has been pointed out to me before but I can't remember it. I'll have to see if I have a butterfly book hanging around.

So the birding action has been superb for me this week! I hope everyone else has been seeing their share of birds as well!
 

Searching Everywhere For New Arrivals

It seems to me that the big spring migration wave has been more like a trickle so far. I got my share of exercise searching through Guida's Nature preserve this morning. It's a nice mix of open fields, edge habitat, and woodland trails-lots of trails. I was wandering around all over the place wondering if I covered every field and trail. In the end I found just 2 new species for the year, Magnolia Warbler and Ovenbird.

I wish that I could get a picture of all the new birds to see but some are high up in the trees bouncing around and others like this one are just plain camera shy and that can be a bitter pill to swallow!Fortunately, there are others like this female Eastern Towhee that are too busy building nests to worry about who's watching!