Of Tanagers and Gnatcatchers - 15 May 2026
I took a drive to Elizabeth Park to see if my (heard) Canada Warbler (from yesterday) might still be around. Radar also showed a big movement of birds overnite so I was also curious if anything new would show. Arriving at 8:20 am under mostly cloudy skies and 51ºF I walked the trails hoping to find some warblers. The usual suspects were singing this morning, but warblers were scarce. Until I spotted a Black-and-White Warbler and Chestnut-sided Warbler in the bushes to my left. They were too fast for the camera so I'd have to wait until reached the center trail where a Chestnut-sided Warbler was foraging low enough to photograph. Barely. Near the west side of the woodlot a pair of Baltimore Orioles were foraging high in the trees. I then spotted a pair of female Scarlet Tanagers foraging high in the canopy. I stuck around for several minutes hoping they would come a bit lower, and they did. I thought that a male Scarlet Tanager should be around, so I scanned the treetops a...