Wilson's Warbler

On the Central California Coast birders know that spring has arrived when we hear Wilson’s Warbler singing in the damp brush of forested areas. This perky warbler is often seen flying around in brush capturing insects and stopping a few seconds for a photo op.

Yellow Warbler and a Bee

I was inspired by the yellow warbers Dave and I saw a few days ago and also by the photos he took. My show titled ‘Birds and a Bee’ opens this week at Viewpoints Gallery, Los Altos, CA, and I have been experimenting adding bees to my bird paintings.

Yellow Warbler and Fennel 12” x 6” acrylic on wood panel

Yellow Warbler and Fennel 12” x 6” acrylic on wood panel

Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

A warbler with a lemon-yellow face that is common in the Northeast United States and Southeast Canada in the northern summer. In the summer it feeds mostly on caterpillars in coniferous and deciduous forests. This species spends the northern winter in tropical America where it eats the buds of the cecropia  tree.

We have seen this species in Northern Ohio as it makes its way across the lakes to northern forests in Canada.

Photo taken at Magee Marsh, 2018.

Nashville Warbler

I found my first ever Nashville Warbler in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Yosemite National Park. Floy and I were hiking a steep trail and we saw a little bird flitting around in a nearby tree. I was taken aback by this little beauty with a yellow-olive belly, a gray head and a distinct, complete eye ring. There is a sliver of a breeding population of this species that is found on the Sierra Nevada Mountains and up into Oregon, Washington and Southern British Columbia, but most of the breeding activity occurs in Southeastern Canada and the Northeastern United States.

This photo was taken in the Edinburg Scenic Wetland Park in Texas.

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler at Magee Marsh, Ohio

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler

The Palm Warbler occurs mostly east of the Rocky Mountains and breeds almost exclusively in Northern Canada. Some members of this species will spend winters along the west coast of the United States, however, most overwinter in the Southeastern United States and down into the Caribbean and Yucatan. The winter Palm Warbler, like most other warblers is drab brown, but the yellow under-tail area gives them away along with their habit of wagging their tail up and down as they forage on the ground. They are brave for warblers. In Florida a winter bird came up and pecked on my shoe.

The photo shows an adult heading for the breeding grounds. Photo taken in May 2018 at Magee Marsh, Ohio.

Bay-breasted Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Yes, there are many beautiful birds in the Neotropics, but it’s not to say there isn’t beauty among the birds in North America. Indeed, we share many of our birds with countries in the south when they migrate to warmer climes in the winter. Floy and I have seen many northern species in the south, but they are often drab and do not show their breeding colors until the northern spring. The male Bay-breasted warbler is a member of this category, drab and plain in the Neotropics becoming a stunning showman in the northern summer.

This photo was taken in May, 2018 at Magee Marsh, Ohio