Lawrence's Warbler

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 14, 2012

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 14, 2012

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 14, 2012

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 14, 2012

I had another great find this morning as I ran across a Lawrence's Warbler (hybrid) in Belchertown.  I have now seen a pure Golden-winged and pure Blue-winged and both of the hybrids produced by them-Brewster's and Lawrence's.  It has been a great spring so far for these various warblers.  Within about a week I have seen two separate Brewster's, a Golden-winged and a Lawrence's as well as several Blue-winged Warblers.  Until this spring I had only seen one of each in western Massachusetts of all but Blue-winged.  Yet again it was another example of being in the right spot at the right time.  I had previously gone through Covey WMA and Quabbin Park in the rain and then headed for home as the activity was fairly light and the rain had gotten heavier.  Once the rain stopped I headed out with Wilson for a walk along the Belchertown Land Trust trail off Route 181.  After about 3/4 of a mile of walking I heard a Blue-winged Warbler song .  As I have done in the past I tracked the bird down to confirm it was a Blue-winged.  The light was terrible and the bird stayed high, singing over and over.  I finally got a fairly good look and could see a dark throat.  After several more minutes of trying to get a better angle I got a great view of a Lawrence's Warbler.  As I was out for a walk with the dog the only camera I had was my phone and the bird was too distant and active to get anything with that so I quickly headed out toward the car to head home and grab the camera and hope when I returned the bird was still there.  I made it out and back in a little over a half hour and the bird was thankfully still there.  Although it stayed mainly high in the trees I managed several photos of the bird.  I have included several here but more can be found on my Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/sets/72157629727252568/

This record of Lawrence's Warbler occurred within a half a mile of where I had one several years ago but was never able to refind.  Luckily this bird stayed around for me to get back and get some photos and video.