Today was another of the spring walks with AMNH, and this one was very satisfying, warbler-wise. On my way to meet the group I saw a few yellow-rumps and palms, do I figured it would be a good day. And it was!
One lone night heron in what I have come to think of as the night heron tree. If this trend continues, that name won't last. But look how cute! It looks sort of between juvie and adult plumage, and a little sleepy. :-)
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| black-crowned night heron |
There were a few fancy sparrows, swamp sparrows in several locations, chipping at the feeders, and a song sparrow on my way out. And hermit thrushes were everywhere. Like, really, everywhere. And still plenty of ruby-crowned kinglets. But the focus for me today was - warblers! We saw lots of palm warblers.
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| palm warbler |
Oh, and there were lots of gnatcatchers too! They don't seem to want pictures. This was typical.
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| blue-grey gnatcatcher |
Back to warblers! Yes, it's a warbler. Yes, thrush is right there in the name, but it's not a thrush. Just one reason birding is..... unkind to beginners.
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| northern waterthrush |
A yellow warbler being shy, peeking out from behind a lacy curtain. Hello, gorgeous!
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| yellow warbler |
Black and white acrobatics. There were a few of these around, I have missed them!
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| black-and-white warbler |
Today's star was the prairie warbler, all the birders in the park were excited about this one.
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| prairie warbler |
Oh, yeah, there were hawks too! It's been ages since I've seen a Cooper's hawk so I was especially thrilled to see this guy. He went by us like he was on a one-way mission, but then circled back. I'm starting to see its silhouette as obviously different from a red-tail, so that's progress. Wish I could get more practice with this! :-)
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| Cooper's hawk |
And the most populous warbler of the day, showing off how it got its name.
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| yellow-rumped warbler |
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