Texas warblers

Orange-crowned Warbler, Estero Llano Grande SP, TX, Nov 12, 2011

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Bentsen RGV State Park, TX, Nov 13, 2011

Ovenbird, Bentsen RGV State Park, TX, Nov 13, 2011

Black and White Warbler, Estero Llano Grande SP, TX, Nov 14, 2011

Black and White Warbler, Estero Llano Grande SP, TX, Nov 14, 2011

I took a trip down to Texas on November 10 and stayed until November 15 visiting several areas in the lower Rio Grande valley.  The vast majority of the warblers seen were either Orange-crowned or Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers.  Besides these two species I had a handful of Common Yellowthroats in a few spots as well as a single Ovenbird using the water feature at the Nature Center at Bentsen RGV State Park and a Black and White Warbler at Estero Llano Grande SP.  Both of these last species were state birds for me in Texas.  I ended up with a total of five warbler species.  I missed out on the few Tropical Parula's around as well as a very rare Golden-crowned Warbler that showed up on November 20.  I will have to get them on the next trip.  Yet another successful trip with lots of great birds.

November warbler

On a Hampshire Bird Club trip on the east side of the Quabbin we came across a Yellow-rumped Warbler near the fishing area late morning.  This is a very unusual sighting for this area of Quabbin this late in the season and was one of the best birds of the day.

Magnolia Warbler in downtown Northampton

While working today I walked up Pleasant St in Northampton and at the bike path I noticed a small bird hopping around on the ground just off the trail.  I took a few more steps and then backtracked to see what it was as it stuck me as odd.  It was a Magnolia Warbler feeding just off the road.  A beautiful naked eye bird that seemed so out of place here.  Certainly a nice bird on this chilly morning and getting late for around here.  My last one was on October 1 until this morning

More October warblers

Despite the windy weather of the last few days I have managed to find some lingering warblers.  Today was quite good with Yellow-rumped, Palm, Black-throated Green, Blackpoll and Pine Warblers.  Most of these were in one small area at Quabbin Park.  Nothing too unusual but a nice selection for mid October.

early October warblers

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin, MA, Oct 9, 2011

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin, MA, Oct 9, 2011

The days of double digits warbler species counts are all finished here in Massachusetts.  Soon it will be tough to find any warblers beyond the late staying yellow rumps.  With that said I had a very nice day for warblers today.  I spent the morning in the central part of Quabbin and found a nice collection of warblers for the 9th day of October.  The weather started cool in the upper 40's but quickly warmed to a record setting mid 80's high.  The surprise warbler of the day was an adult male Cape May in a mixed species flock.  There were a total of  eight species with the vast majority being Yellow-rumped Warblers.  The other species seen included Northern Parula, Common Yellowthroat, Palm, Blackpoll, Pine and Black throated Blue Warblers.

California trip warblers

Orange-crowned Warbler, Elkhorn Slough, CA, Sep 21, 2011

Chestnut sided Warbler, Julia Pheiffer Burns SP, CA, Sep 23, 2011

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Drakes Beach, Point Reyes NS, CA, Sep 19, 2011

I have added up my numbers and started going through my photos from my recent California trip (Sept 17-25).  I managed a total of nine species of warbler with the most unusual being an adult Chestnut sided Warbler, which is a rare vagrant in California.  Other species included Orange-crowned, Yellow, Palm, Yellow-rumped (Audubon's), Black-throated Gray, Townsend's and Wilson's Warblers as well as Common Yellowthroat.

California trip

I just returned very late last night from trip out to California spending four days around Point Reyes, a day in Monterey and three days in Big Sur. A fabulous trip with several life birds and lots of photos. A few good warblers around with the most unusual sighting for the area being a Chestnut sided Warbler.  I will download the photos today and perhaps get some up as soon as I can. I still need to total up all my sightings for the trip and that may take awhile. Stay tuned.