It’s April 28 and I’m getting ready to submit my column to the Times News.
My Carbon County bird list has slowly crept up to 102 species.
That will soon change. By late May, if this year is like most others, that list will have grown to about 160 species. Probably 20 of those birds will be a great variety of warbler species.
Warblers are songbirds ranging in size from 4¾ to about 6 inches. Most species are in the smaller range. Nearly all of them use sexual dichromatism, where the male birds are more brightly colored than the females.
In this column I’ll include photos of the males of the species for two reasons: They have beautiful plumage, and later this year I’ll try to help you identify some of the female warblers.
A number of warbler species have already arrived in the Times News coverage area, but most are still on their way.
Palm warblers, that over-winter in the southern U.S., have already arrived on their way to Canada.
Yellow-rumped warblers that arrive in late April and into early May could be the commonest ones if “a wave” comes through the trees while you are birding. A few will nest in the northern edge of the Poconos, but most move farther north. They are the hardiest of the warblers, and birding buddies Dave, Rich and I have already seen them in winter here in Carbon County.
One of the latest warblers to pass through is the blackpoll warbler. It often arrives when the leaves are almost completely opened. They are treetop birds. They also are the champion migrators of the warblers, flying about 12,000 miles round trip each year.
Their fall migration, even more amazing, takes them on nonstop flights from the New England coast to South America, flying for up to four days over the Atlantic without resting. Wow!
Some warbler species are in trouble, especially the golden-winged warbler. The Appalachian population has dropped more than 95%. I last saw one on the Three O’Clock Springs area about five years ago. I still go there every year, hoping to get a glimpse of one again.
Grab your binoculars, field guides or your Merlin App to help you identify them. Focus fast, because most of them feed constantly and seldom sit still for more than a few seconds. I find them most challenging to photograph. Sometimes it takes me years to finally get that “good pic.”
Some of these beauties will stay here to breed, and you can find them until late July or early August. Good birding!
Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: Nearly all the warbler migrations avoid the central Plains area of the U.S. Why?
Last Week’s Trivia Answer: House finches, which I consider a nuisance bird, were native to the West Coast, and released in New York after an unsuccessful attempt to have them sold as caged pet birds.
Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com
Look for this summer resident, the American redstart, in thick cover, especially near streams. Be quick, though, because they’ll sit for a second and then dart off to snatch a flying insect. I can see them along our valley streams or cold tributaries in the Poconos.
“You talking to Me?” This staring northern waterthrush is not a thrush at all but one of two water-loving warblers. Most nest north of us but some may make the Poconos their home. Look for them now along a pond shoreline or a sluggish drainage ditch in thick cover.
One of the two warblers that feeds quite a bit on the ground is the palm warbler. They are already in our region, and will be here for a week or two before heading to the spruce forests of Canada to breed. Miss them now and you’ll have a another chance to see them in late September or early October.
One of my favorites, but lately an elusive spring migrant, is the black-throated green warbler. It feeds in mixed woodlands and is a bit less active, so it’s sometimes easier to focus your binoculars on one.
The common yellowthroat likes low brushy areas to call its home. They have arrived here already. Look for them in thick cover, often near water, but not always. They are not a treetop bird so look more or less at eye level for them.
One of the easiest to identify, and quite a singer, is the appropriately named hooded warbler. My go-to spot is the Bethlehem Watershed property, where a number of cold, feeder streams course off the mountainside. They can be quite numerous there.
One of the earliest warblers to arrive here is the pine warbler, which has been seen in the region for a few weeks. You may still catch a few migrants this weekend, and as the name suggests, they are more common in conifers, but not exclusively.
With its throat “aflame,” the beautiful Blackburnian warbler is also a conifer lover. If this was the first warbler species you would identify, I bet you’d be hooked on warblers for life, like this writer. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Yellow-rumped warblers probably don’t nest in our region, but sometimes large groups overwhelm you when you try to identify another warbler species. I’ve noticed fewer and fewer of them the past several years. Did the massive wildfires in Canada two years ago take a toll?
One of the most beautiful warblers is the northern parula warbler. They do nest here, preferring conifers or mixed conifer and deciduous woodlands. I’m showing here the breast and frontal view of the bird.
Even the dorsal (back) side of the parula is neat. Hopefully you can find one this spring to pique your interest in all the warblers.
A picture doesn’t do it justice, but hopefully you can find another breeding warbler, the black-throated blue warbler. Look for it flitting near a cold mountain stream, showing off its white wing patches as it grabs some flying insects or picks one off a twig.