VA Birders,
Yesterday morning (9/20) started out slower than usual here on Compton Mt with
only an AMERICAN REDSTART, 3 female CAPE MAY WARBLERS, 3 MAGNOLIA WARBLERS, a
couple of TENNESSEE WARBLERS, a couple of SCARLET TANAGERS, and a couple of
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS coming in. About 10:30 I glanced out at my small pond
stream saw that a wave of warblers and other birds were moving in. During this
dry weather the stream has become a magnet for lots of birds. I saw another
female REDSTART, a 1st year female CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, a male BLUE-WINGED,
a female BAY-BREASTED and a PINE WARBLER.
A warbler that was clinging to the end of a twig just over the stream caught my
eye. When I trained my binos on it I was looking at a male MOURNING WARBLER
with dark hood, greenish back and yellow underbelly. I went for the camera, but
when I returned it was gone. However, another small, rather drab, bird was
nervously coming out of the Azalea bush into the stream, but was somewhat
frightened by the 4 CEDAR WAXWINGS, 3 TOWHEES and 3 female INDIGO BUNTINGS that
were bathing. The bird was greenish-brown on the back with yellow underneath
and an eye ring. After taking a look I thought I had a female Connecticut
Warbler, but later I determined that because it had a yellow throat, a broken
eye ring and short undertail coverts, it was a 1st year female MOURNING
WARBLER. I took several photos. This is only the second sighting of this
species in my yard.
For those of you who would like to see this bird here is a link to 3 of the
photos.
http://users.mikrotec.com/mayhorn/MournWarb/MrnWarbP1.htm
Enjoy the birds,
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt (near Grundy)
Buchanan County (in Southwest VA)
