When all of you read this you will think that my birthday last Thursday is
really putting me over the hill! For some reason when the warblers appear in
my yard they are by the living room window in the adjacent crabapple tree and
the bird bath. On Sat during the dreary weather I was standing by my back door
hoping for some warblers---no luck. However a hummingbird flew in and landed
in a nearby mt. ash tree. To my surprise it was an adult male RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRD! Apparently it was after the hibiscus flowers that were nearby.
It soon left but later I discovered it chasing 2 Ruby-throats away from the
flowers. It was not seen again that day or since.
This late afternoon I noticed 3 Redstarts arriving to bath by the living room
window. Also present was another warbler that quickly moved out of sight. All
I could see in the brief look was a grayish upper body and white breast. Too
brief to see any thing else. About 5 minutes later, while the Redstarts were
merrily bathing the mystery warbler reappeared, right in front of the window
and just above the bird bath. For the next few minutes it tried and tried to
join the Redstarts. It was not successful. However I was able to clearly see
the all gray upper body, crown, back, tail and wings. The latter had 2
distinct wing-bars while there was a clear, white eyebrow. The breast and
belly were white with a few very faint streaks on the flanks. I am ashamed to
admit nothing clicked in my mind. No Wisconsin warbler made sense for what I
was seeing. Unfortunately after only several too quick minutes one of my gray
squirrels decided it wanted a drink subsequently chasing the warbler and the
Redstarts. Checking different books the id jumped out at me: an immature
female BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER!!
I was at Bay Beach Sanctuary this morning for 2 hours and found 11 warbler
species plus 3 vireo species. It was fun but not quite like what appeared in
my yard later in the day.
Daryl Tessen
Appleton,, WI
####################
You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding
Network (Wisbirdn).
To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn
