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| Elfin woods Warbler, Bosque Estatal de Maricao, Puerto Rico, Dec 3, 2016 |
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| Elfin woods Warbler, Bosque Estatal de Maricao, Puerto Rico, Dec 3, 2016 |
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| Elfin woods Warbler, Bosque Estatal de Maricao, Puerto Rico, Dec 3, 2016 |
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| Elfin woods Warbler, Bosque Estatal de Maricao, Puerto Rico, Dec 3, 2016 |
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| Adelaide's Warbler, Ceiba-Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, Dec 2, 2016 |
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| Adelaide's Warbler, Ceiba-Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, Dec 2, 2016 |
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| Adelaide's Warbler, Ceiba-Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, Dec 2, 2016 |
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| Adelaide's Warbler, Ceiba-Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, Dec 2, 2016 |
I recently made a trip down to Puerto Rico with the intention of catching up
with the two endemic warbler species down there, the endangered Elfin woods
Warbler and the more widespread Adelaide's Warbler. The Elfin woods Warbler
was only described to science in the 1971/1972 time frame and occurs in only a
couple of spots on the island. I managed to catch up with both species
with the Adelaide's Warbler seen and heard in multiple locations including a
very obliging individual at the old Roosevelt Roads naval station that came in
and perched on the mirror of the car. The Elfin woods Warbler was a bit tougher
to catch up with. It was missed in El Yunque but I caught up with a few of them
in Maricao forest in a mixed species flock on Saturday and got some identifiable photos. We had them
once again in nearly the same spot on Sunday but they remained even more hidden
and afforded no opportunities for photos. It is a unique looking species that
seemed to be hanging out in a mixed flock that included a Black and White
Warbler and a couple Black throated Blue Warblers as well as a few Puerto Rican
endemics. It is surprising this species remained unknown to science for so long
but I guess not enough people were looking in the right spots. The two warblers
on the island became warbler species #62 and #63 for me.
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| Prairie Warbler, Cabo Rojo NWR, Puerto Rico, Dec 4, 2016 |
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| Palm Warbler (western), Ceiba/Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, Dec 2, 2016 |
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| Black and White Warbler, Bosque Estatal de Maricao, Puerto Rico, Dec 3, 2016 |
Besides the two endemic
warbler species I also found a number of migrant warblers including Northern Waterthrush, Black and
White Warbler, Northern Parula, Black throated Blue Warbler, Palm Warbler (western), American
Redstart, Yellow Warbler (golden subspecies) and Prairie Warbler. Most were
seen in small numbers but the amount of Prairie Warblers at Cabo Rojo NWR in the
southwest part of the island was amazing. While checking out some of the
mudflats near sunset there was a steady stream of Prairie Warblers moving by
totaling several dozen. Every small bush seems to contain several individuals
at once...the most Prairie Warblers I have ever seen in one location.
Below is a summary of the year in warblers by month with a running tally of warblers for the year, warblers per month and warblers by month for Hampshire County.
Warblers (running tally for year)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
7 7 7 21 32 32 32 32 33 33 33 33
Warblers overall per month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
7 0 1 20 29 20 16 13 24 12 1 19
Hampshire County warblers by month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
0 0 1 20 29 20 16 13 24 12 1 0
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