Winter Warbling in November? - 20 Nov 2022
After a gusty and blustery day yesterday I was greeted with 2" of fresh snow this morning. And 20F temps! Wind-chills put the real-feel in the teens and I felt every bit of it...
A first American Tree Sparrow showed at the feeders this morning alongside the dozen Dark-eyed Junco, another dozen House Finches, Blue-Jays, and a single White-throated Sparrow. Yara and I enjoyed their antics while we snuggled on the couch. I then decided it was time to get out and get some pics.
I drove down to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and made a loop through the place. I was looking for sparrows and longspurs but had to settle for a Gray Ghost (Northern Harrier) and a single American Kestrel. I made sure to remove my lens hood to make sure I wouldn't have issues with convection distortions.
Nov 20, 2022 8:00 AM - 8:20 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
2 species
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) 1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
My next stop was Lake Erie Metropark. I drove down to the Wave Pool to check the marsh just west. I thought that I'd be shocked to see it completely frozen and iced over, but driving past a frozen Huron River on the way made it an expectation. The place was empty, but I needed to start acclimating to cold weather so I bundled up and took the scope, and 600 mm f/4 system.
On the way I spotted a flock of 6 Horned Larks flying overhead; I heard them before seeing them. A Song Sparrow gave me nice poses but kept moving so I never got pics.
As I walked the service drive to check out the marsh I spotted massive flocks of European Starlings in the marsh and in the trees. Nothing else was showing until I spotted a single starling apparently bathing in a small puddle next to shore. Except, it was flopping with an outstretched wing! I realized that it was snagged in fishing line. Given the cold I could not let it struggle and freeze to death so I dropped the gear and hiked down into the frozen marsh, caught the bird, and bit the fishing line that was wrapped around the tip of its P10 primary feather. I was unable to unwrap the fishing line completely, but was able to bite it short enough that the bird could fly away safely without apparent issues. Hopefully a feather molt will rid it of its unpopular decoration.
A single Swamp Sparrow at the west side of the marsh was a nice find, but I was too cold and slow to get any pics.
Returning to the car I headed over to the Detroit River Hawk Watch where I found Andrew Sturgess, Kevin Georg and Bill Peregord. Ice was covering much of the canal in front of us with only scattered patches of open water, yet duck hunting boats continued to move through and break up the thin ice. Hawks were not flying as the wind was blowing mostly from the west. Small flocks of Bonaparte's Gulls were far out on open water while more flocks of Ring-billed Gulls roosted on the fresh ices.
With numb fingers and head covering insufficient to keep from freezing I kept moving around to keep circulation. That was when Andy and Bill (and a just-arrived Don Sherwood) shouted that a bright yellow-colored warbler just flew past us and into the tree next to the watch. I immediately took off after it with the Sony a1 and 600/4.
Against the white snow and gray skies the brightly-colored warbler was as yellow as any I could imagine. As we viewed the bird we could see the bright yellow underparts, olive-green upperparts and a patch of black on the head or near the eye (it was hard to tell). I suspected Common Yellowthroat.
It wasn't until I got home and reviewed images that I realized that I had a Yellow Warbler! A very late Yellow Warbler.
The dark patch on the left side of the head was not the unmolted black mask of a Common Yellowthroat but patches of missing feathers around its eye, which at least appears healthy. It certainly didn't affect its ability to find spiders hidden among the branches.
I returned to the group just as they were talking to one of the park security that was showing pics of a Golden Eagle chasing a 4-pt buck yesterday in the park!
I headed home to find my fingers. Despite the cold I enjoyed getting back out into the field after a 2-week interruption by work and art conferences. Thanks to Allen Chartier for verifying ID of the Yellow Warbler.
Lake Erie Metropark, Wayne, Michigan, US
Nov 20, 2022 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Images and story at https://birdingthroughglass.bl
17 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 24
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) 6
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 2
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 5
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 6
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 18
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 2
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) 6
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 150
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 2
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 1 Landed in tree next to hawk watch at the boat launch. Bright yellow warbler with olive-green upperparts, yellow-tinged veins on primaries and yellow undertail. Light eye-ring and lack of contrast between throat and head differentiated it from Common Yellowthroat. Bird did have missing feathers around eye on left side of head that initially gave impression of a molting Common Yellowthroat but photos verified lack of feathering. ID confirmed by Allen Chartier.
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
