Roger Mayhorn's posting on Drought and Migrants is right on. I have bird
pools and a leaf mister in my yard, and on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 PM this
combination, especially the leaf mister, paid off once again.
A wave of migrants came through and spent the next half hour bathing, most
settling for mist baths. I observed 10 species of warblers: Nashville 1, No.
Parula 2, Chestnut-sided 2, Magnolia 1, Black-throated Blue 1, Black-throated
Green 2, Blackburnian 1, Bay-breasted 1, Am. Redstart 1, and Wilson 1. Most
were adult birds. A few males, a B-T Green, a Chestnut-sided, a Parula, and
B-T
Blue, were still sporting their breeding plumages--quite a sight.
Other migrants enjoying the mister were Swainson's Thrush, Scarlet Tanager
and Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
Saturday morning at Riverbend Park meadow had been so slow, that I passed on
birding there on Sunday morning. Now I wish I hadn't.
Ralph Wall
Great Falls, VA
