The Pursuit of Warblers: palm warbler yellow

Showing posts with label palm warbler yellow. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2026

The end of April warblers

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 27, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 29, 2026

Wilson relaxing after a walk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 29, 2026

Blackburnian Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 30, 2026

The end of April continued to feature mainly subpar migration conditions with below average numbers and variety of warblers. Today was rainy in the morning and never really warmed up. Nonetheless I was out walking a little in the rain and my reward was one new warbler species for the year with a Blackburnian Warbler at Quabbin Park (warbler species #38 for the year in the US). The previous few days were at least mainly sunny and pleasant but without good winds to move stuff in the warblers mainly trickled in. I did manage my first double digit warbler day of the spring here on Tuesday with eleven species including my first Blue winged Warbler of the year plus my first Northern Parula of the year in Hampshire County. Yesterday featured one new species for me for the year in the county with a Prairie Warbler. The record early Magnolia Warbler I found on my birthday continued for me for at least another day

Palm Warblers 'yellow', Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 28, 2026

I also added a second species at the water feature with Palm Warblers on the 28th.

To end out April in the county I found a total of 14 species with two of those (Blue winged Warbler and Blackburnian Warbler) being new for me for my big warbler year in the US moving my total to 38 species so far. April overall was quite productive for warblers with my trips to Texas, New Mexico and Arizona plus warblers at home bringing me to 27 species seen for the month. May will rapidly bring in numbers of warblers and I will be out there enjoying them as much as possible. May migration is truly one of the best reasons to live here.

Friday, April 17, 2026

A slightly early Black and White Warbler on another warm day

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 17, 2026

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2026

After a very successful trip from Texas to Arizona I arrived back home on Wednesday evening to summer like weather (multiple posts on the trip coming up as soon as I go through all the photos). The warm weather certainly had me thinking of some early arriving warblers thanks to southerly winds for multiple nights with the chance for a southern overshoot always on my mind. Yesterday was in the 80's with a fair amount of sun and although a little cooler and cloudier today it still got into the low 70's. Yellow rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers and Pine Warblers have arrived in numbers plus some Louisiana Waterthrushes. I also found a slightly early Black and White Warbler at a foggy Quabbin Park. The extreme warmth will quickly be coming to an end with temps that will drop substantially over the weekend.

Friday, April 3, 2026

Record early Louisiana Waterthrush this morning

Louisiana Waterthrush, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Pine Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 3, 2026

After a raw and rainy day yesterday that continued into this morning I didn't have a lot of expectations in finding any new arrivals as migration conditions were so poor. I was delighted to be wrong with my expectations when I had my earliest ever Louisiana Waterthrush in Hampshire County (beating my previous record of April 5 set back in 2022). I was walking at Lake Wallace primarily looking for some Palm Warblers and heard a few calls along the outlet stream and then a single song of a Louisiana Waterthrush. I scanned for a bit and then saw it as it actively fed and continued to call. Always nice to set a new arrival date and even better on such a crappy weather day with temps just above freezing. The typical arrival for Louisiana Waterthrush in the county (using by own personal data from the last 15 years) is the end of the second week of April. Once I got some documentation photos and recordings of the waterthrush I continued on to find some Palm Warblers and located at least ten individuals feeding low along the edge of the lake (typical behavior on a cold day in early spring for the species). I also had at least one Pine Warbler at the lake, giving me my first three warbler species day of the spring. I visited a few other locations over the course of the morning and had more Palm Warblers and Pine Warblers. The first of what will hopefully be many good mornings of warblers going forward.

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Warblers for the second week in Florida

Northern Parula, Ward Park, Orlando, FL, Jan 12, 2026

Palm Warbler 'western', Ward Park, Orlando, FL, Jan 12, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Ward Park, Orlando, FL, Jan 12, 2026

To start off the second week I headed down to a small city park in Orlando called Ward Park with the main goal being to track down a rare for area Western Tanager as well as some Summer Tanagers and I had success with both. Although the park was quite small it held a decent number of birds including a total of eight species of warblers.

Northern Yellow Warbler, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 14, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 14, 2026

Tuesday I finally made a trip out to the coast with the goal to add new species for the year with the focus being shorebirds and gulls (and other coastal birds). Without a lot of time I headed to the closest coastal area available in the Ponce Inlet area instead of going further south to better birding locations (like Merritt Island NWR). Warblers were not a goal for the day and I only ended up with five species with only three of those on the coast.

Wednesday found me making a return trip up to Lake Woodruff NWR and among the four species of warbler there was an unusual for location Northern Yellow Warbler. I added a couple more species for the day at Scrub Oak Preserve so ended the day with half a dozen species.

Palm Warbler 'western', Hickory Bluff Preserve, Osteen, FL, Jan 15, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Hickory Bluff Preserve, Osteen, FL, Jan 15, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Bluff Preserve, Osteen, FL, Jan 15, 2026

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Monroe Conservation Area, Kratzert Tract, Osteen, FL, Jan 15, 2026

On Thursday headed out on a rainy morning and given the conditions I didn't travel too far. I decided to hit a number of places off to the southeast including D Ranch Preserve, Leon Bluff Boat Ramp, Hickory Bluff Preserve and Lake Monroe Conservation Area. Once the rain ended the wind picked up a bit and it was overall a cool day. It was another day with half a dozen species of warblers.

Northern Yellow Warbler, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 16, 2026

Palm Warbler 'western', Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 16, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 16, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 16, 2026

This Friday found me once again headed over to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. The day started with record setting cold weather with a frosty low of 30 degrees. I didn't think I would need to break out the winter coat and hat again until I got back home! At least it was sunny with little wind so it really didn't feel terrible after the first couple hours. The most unusual warbler for the morning were two Northern Yellow Warblers in the same area I had them last week. The drive also contained high numbers of Common Yellowthroats and Palm Warblers.

Northern Parula, Shiloh Marsh Road, Merritt Island NWR, FL, Jan 17, 2026

Palm Warbler 'western', Shiloh Marsh Road, Merritt Island NWR, FL, Jan 17, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, Shiloh Marsh Road, Merritt Island NWR, FL, Jan 17, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Shiloh Marsh Road, Merritt Island NWR, FL, Jan 17, 2026

I had limited time on Saturday morning before I had to return to take care of Wilson as Sherri headed off to a conference and I decided to head out early with a trip to the coast to add some more shorebird species. I started off at New Smyrna Beach where I spent a little under two hours before heading south to the northern most sections of Merritt Island NWR. Again not a warbler centric morning so just a half a dozen species.

Palm Warbler 'western', Audubon Park, Deltona, FL, Jan 18, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Audubon Park, Deltona, FL, Jan 18, 2026

To end out the second week in Florida I stayed close to home as Wilson had a rough evening and was still not quite back to normal in the morning. Once I was sure he was okay I headed to a couple nearby areas before returning home to take him for an early (and long walk) before the latest cold front was forecast to arrive. Managed just five species of warblers for the morning.

For the entire second week I ended up with a dozen species of warblers.

Sunday, October 19, 2025

Eight species of warblers this morning

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Tennessee Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Pine Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Amherst, MA, Oct 19, 2025

I took advantage of some great weather this morning to try to see how many warblers I could find and I managed a very respectable eight species including three that are getting late (Nashville Warbler, Tennessee Warbler and Pine Warbler). It started off sunny and cool but the sun warmed things up within a few hours of sunrise and a decent southerly breeze kicked the temps to near 70 by the end of the day. I started my morning in Amherst where I spent almost two hours covering a bit under two miles. Not a ton of diversity for warblers with just three species (Yellow rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler and Common Yellowthroat) but the number of Yellow rumps were good with nearly forty present. I then moved on to a couple spots in Belchertown before heading home. By the time I got to the first spot in Belchertown it was a little before nine and the breeze was coming up so tracking birds was a bit tougher. Nonetheless this quick stop produced two of the three late species for the day (in the same tree) plus a single Blackpoll Warbler. With half a dozen warbler species at this point I headed to one other spot in Belchertown and had multiple Yellow rumped Warblers plus a couple Palm Warblers, then an Orange crowned Warbler and then finished up with a Pine Warbler still singing. Eight species of warblers for this year on this date is really good as migration conditions have been so good and not many species are lingering.

Friday, October 3, 2025

Another oddly plumaged Yellow rumped Warbler today

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle' with extensive white on head, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Hot on the heels of finding two unusually plumaged warblers yesterday including a possible hybrid Yellow rumped Warbler and an odd Black throated Blue Warbler I found another unusual individual today in the East Meadows of Northampton. The Yellow rumped Warbler had extensive white splotching on the head and neck. I have seen this species with more extesive white a few times with the most extreme being one I had at the house back in May 2020. Always worth sorting through the hordes of Yellow rumped Warblers to try to find an odd individual.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Palm Warbler 'yellow', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2025

During the rest of my morning I ran across a few warblers with the most abundant being Yellow rumped Warblers and Palm Warblers and much lesser numbers of a few other species. The areas I covered were not all typical warbler hot spots so not surprised to have less diversity this morning compared to the last couple with just nine species with a few represented by just a single individual.

The Pursuit of Warblers