While hunting for a Golden-winged Warbler at the spot where one had been found
in years past, we came across a Brewster's singing a typical Blue-winged song.
By our observation, and according to the description in Sibley, it was a 1st
generation male.
The intriguing thing, and the one which puzzles us most, is that this bird is
using the exact same territorial singing trees that the Golden-winged used last
year and the year before.
One could assume that it was an offspring of the male Golden-winged we saw last
year (according to this specific, confined territory), but the song is the
tricky part - if the male Golden-winged was the father last year, why would
this hybrid sing the Blue-winged song? Or, was it the offspring of a female
Golden-winged / male Blue-winged which the song would imply? Although we never
saw a female Golden-winged in the area last year, that seems the more likely
conclusion. Even though we didn't find a true Golden-winged in the area today,
it was nevertheless reassuring to find this hybrid returning to the same spot.
Also observed today were our first CICADAS. Most were heard and seen in
Shenandoah Co., but also in adjacent areas of West Virginia. Aside from that,
the most common non-bird species in Shenandoah Co were Turkey hunters and
fishermen.
Jon Little & BJ Westervelt
Winchester
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