Warblers

This weekend has been great for migrants. A strong push of birds came through after the passing of a cold front on Friday. Although Saturday was good, today was even better. Everywhere I looked, I found small flocks of warblers, vireos, and chickadees. At one point, I found 14 species in one tree. Of the warblers, Northern Parulas were the most abundant. Blackburnian and Black-throated Green Warblers were also fairly common. I found my first Yellow-rumped Warbler and Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the season this morning. Yesterday, I found my first White-throated Sparrow of the fall.

Northern Parulas, like this one, were everywhere this morning.



Blackburnian Warblers in the fall are not nearly as bright as they are in the spring, but they are still distinctive.

Along with the birds, lots of Monarchs have been migrating. I have been able to tag a few for the MonarchWatch project, but most of the ones I see are flying.

This Monarch (NGL 300) has been tagged and is on its way to the over-wintering grounds in Mexico.

Today, I photographed this Monarch flying overhead. If you look closely, you can see a MonarchWatch tag. This is probably a Monarch that I tagged in my yard that is now heading south.