[Bristol-Birds] Townsend's Warbler, long version
- From: "Rick Knight" <RKnight@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2004 17:46:44 -0500
This morning (13 Jan), I was doing the eagle survey for Wilbur & Watauga
Lakes. At the bridge over Wilbur, where the driveway goes up to the
Horseshoe Bend Church, I heard some chickadee call notes and paused to
see what else might be with them. (Turned out to be a great decision.)
Quickly spotted chickadees & titmice, a Brown Creeper, and both
kinglets. Then a small bird with considerable yellowish on the face,
throat & chest appeared. Of course, my first thought was Pine Warbler,
which would be a good find here in mid-winter. Then I saw the face
pattern and realized that it was a Townsend's -- a bird that I've seen
in the Pacific Northwest a few times. I watched this bird for 6-8
minutes in good light at close range (20-40 ft.). Although the forest
there is mixed, the Townsend's stayed in pine trees (mostly Virginia &
Short-leaf). It spent most of the time foraging, by gleaning &
flutter-hovers, around the limbs and needle clusters of the pines at a
height of 5-25 feet above the ground.
Superficially, it resembled a Black-throated Green Warbler, but with a
dark cheek patch (that included a dark line in front of the eye) and a
bright yellow throat & breast. The belly was white, contrasting
abruptly with the yellow breast. Two or three rows of bold black
streaks extended along the full length of the sides. The crown & back
were greenish. The wings were dark, with two bold white wing bars.
Quite a bonus for the new year! To my knowledge, this is the third
record in Tennessee. The others occurred in Blount County & at Pickwick
State Park, both in December 1994. It may be difficult to relocate this
bird because of the large amount of suitable habitat in that area.
###################
Rick Knight
Johnson City, TN
rknight@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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