The weather has been very nice for people but it has not helped with birding. This has been the most dismal warbler migration I can remember. Last spring was bad too and I was hoping to make it up this fall, but it did not work out. I’m missing many species that I should have got, like Northern Waterthrush, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Palm Warbler, to name a few. I guess there is still a chance of seeing some warblers I need but time is running out. Sparrows are starting to pick up though. I’ve added a few more species to my year list, I’m up to 346 species now.
Swamp Sparrows have arrived in numbers. Always difficult to photograph well, I was very happy with this shot. I finally added Sedge Wren to my year list!Not a new species for the year, but I like how this Marsh Wren posed for me!A Spotted Towhee coming in for the sunflower seeds I placed on the ground. White-throated Sparrows are moving through, this one was at my sunflower seed dump. An Orange-crowned Warbler with a crab spider. The bird was in the shade against a bright background, difficult processing but I guess it came out OK. Orange-crowned Warbler in nice light! At this time of year, the warblers love to feed in red-osier dogwood, the leaves harbor lots of aphids and other insects. Here’s one picking the aphids off the underside of the leaves of red-osier dogwood.
