Wet Warblers

American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla

Nashville Warbler Leiothlypis ruficapilla

Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata

Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis

Blue-headed Vireo Vireo solitarius

Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
('Yellow-shafted')

Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius

Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis with
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris

No one here but us waterlogged trees

‘Quiet Place’ in NDG, May 5, 2024

  The migratory cork finally popped this past week, with everyone posting fat, warbler-laden lists of late. There has been no shortage of early May rarities for Québec too, fun times.

  So, in spite of heavy rain and winds throughout the day, it felt like an opportune moment to check in on my NDG patch. Despite very challenging conditions (my feet are pruned, and everything is wet wet wet), there was some satisfying migratory shrapnel in evidence in the wet and gloomy woods today. I logged 23 species in two hours.

  Always nice to see warblers, even soggy ones! I spotted several first-of-year birds, and two personal firsts for the site (Blue-headed Vireo and American Redstart). Also encountered was a solid 50 count of Ruby-crowned Kinglets (‘Fool’s Warblers’), and one Golden-crowned. Only one Eastern Phoebe was noted. White-throated Sparrows were well-dispersed but shy. One wonders what today’s list would have looked like without all that rain.

  I also had my first visual sighting of an Eastern Bluebird for the site (one was heard on October 23, 2022). It perched on the side of a tree for a bit, before being chased off by an agitated White-breasted Nuthatch. Was it staking out nest holes and came into conflict with another species of cavity nester? I’ll keep an eye on it.

  Incidentally, my back-of-napkin list for the patch is at 55 species, with 12 warblers among them.

  Water is good for cameras, right?

  Oh, I randomly spotted several Warbling Vireos flitting through trees in a decidedly urban setting yesterday.

  Exactly one year ago today I was birding in similar sodden conditions in Jeju City, at the foot-foaming kick-off to my wacky ‘spring 2023 Korean birding fugue.’ I refuse to believe that an entire calendar year has passed since then. It…just happened. Sadly, I feel twice as old and half as nimble as I did last May 5th (my stupid neck has seen better days), boo-hoo.