June 5, 2021 — “Sweet, sweet, sweet, ain’t I sweet!” sings the Yellow Warbler, and indeed it is sweet to hear this most vocal of warblers warming up the early spring season with song. Also among the most common of warblers here in Connecticut, the Yellow Warbler is aptly named: it is yellow! While the male proudly displays bold chestnut stripes down his breast, the female is pure yellow tip to toe. No wingbars, no tail spots, just yellow, highlighted by a big black eye, like a round lump of coal.
Posts Tagged ‘Daily Bird’
Daily Bird: Wood Warblers — Yellow Warbler
Saturday, June 5th, 2021Daily Bird: Wood Warblers — Black-throated Green Warbler
Thursday, June 3rd, 2021June 3, 2021 — One of the perils of birding is the affliction known as “warbler neck.” And Black-throated Green Warblers (Setophaga virens) are adept at causing it. From high in the pines or hemlocks of our Connecticut woodlands, the distinctive, buzzy “zee, zee, zee zoozee” (or “See, See, See Suzie”) song of the Black-throated Green advertises its presence and invites prolonged studies through binoculars until 1) the bird is spotted or 2) your neck gives out.
Daily Bird: Black-bellied Whistling Duck, a rarity
Tuesday, June 1st, 2021June 1, 2021 — The first state record of Black-bellied Whistling Duck was in mid August, 2018, when one showed up in Essex. Now six have been found in Watertown — the second state record. Back in August 2018, Andy Griswold, Connecticut Audubon’s EcoTravel director, wrote about the species for our old Bird Finder feature. We’ve revised it for today’s Daily Bird.
Daily Bird: Wood Warblers — Black-throated Blue Warbler
Tuesday, May 25th, 2021Don’t miss the beautiful videos on this!
May 25, 2021 — The Black-throated Blue Warbler, stunningly unique in its adult male garb, is quite average in other ways. It’s never as rare or hard to find as a Mourning Warbler, and never as abundant at the height of migration as a Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler, or a Palm Warbler.
Daily Bird: Wood Warblers — Blackpoll Warbler
Wednesday, May 19th, 2021May 19, 2021 — Though Blackpoll Warblers are fairly common in Connecticut, we are likely to see them only in spring and fall migrations, when they are among the last warblers to migrate. They don’t breed in the state or most of New England, and nest further north than any other warbler species.
Daily Bird: Wood Warblers — Worm-eating Warbler
Wednesday, May 12th, 2021May 12, 2021 — During migration Worm-eating Warblers may be seen at any of the typical warbler stopovers, such as Connecticut Audubon’s Birdcraft Sanctuary in Fairfield and East Rock Park in New Haven.
Daily Bird: Wood Warblers — Blackburnian Warbler
Tuesday, May 11th, 2021May 11, 2021 — One of the most strikingly colored of our wood-warblers, this species’ flaming orange throat was responsible for its colloquial name of “Fire Throat.”
Daily Bird: Wood Warblers — Magnolia Warbler
Monday, May 10th, 2021May 10, 2021 — The first time I really noticed a warbler was in my backyard in Milford when I was 10 years old with my dad’s binoculars. It was a Magnolia Warbler in a Flowering Dogwood at about eye level. For a 10 year old it seemed impossibly beautiful and I had no trouble looking it up in my field guide.
Daily Bird: Wood Warblers — Hooded Warbler
Friday, May 7th, 2021May 7, 2021 — Usually first noticed by a ringing “weeta, weeta, weeteeo” song, a Hooded Warbler sighting highlights almost any bird walk in the Connecticut woods. Hooded Warblers reach the northern edge of their breeding range here in Connecticut (although there is a breeding population in southern Ontario), generally arriving during the first week of May and setting up housekeeping almost immediately.
Daily Bird: Wood Warblers — Black-and-White Warbler
Thursday, May 6th, 2021May 6, 2021 — Although every warbler species is unique, the Black-and-white Warbler stands out, and for a variety of reasons. Many warblers exhibit bright and flashy colors, but the aptly named Black-and-white Warbler is just that: black and white. Yet it is far from drab: the ornate and contrasting striped pattern conjures the exotic pattern of a zebra.
