1st Fall Warblers - 19 Aug 2024

My first warbler of the fall migration was a Blackburnian Warbler at Elizabeth Park!

Brian Beauchene reported a nice mix of warblers yesterday so I headed down to Elizabeth Park this morning shortly after 8 am. Skies were clear but the woods were dark, so I'd have to rely on some very high ISO settings (100 - 64,000). I'd need all 64,000 ISO's this morning; in fact, I'd be shooting mostly between 12,800 - 64,000 all morning.

Arriving at the center woodlot I headed through the middle and walked to the north side where I spotted a nice flock of warblers working their way down the canopy toward the shrub line (winds were picking up so the birds moved closer to ground).

This Blackburnian Warbler was the first of almost a dozen I'd see in this flock.

Several Black-and-White Warblers made appearances.

Several Tennessee Warblers were also mixed in the flock, and if it weren't for the whitish undertail coverts I would have thought I was looking at Orange-crowned Warblers (note the slight curve to the bill).

Some of the locals made appearances, as well. Several Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatches were foraging nearby.

I'd pick up Least Flycatcher, and this Eastern Wood-Pewee.

But the Blackburnian Warblers were the stars of the day. They were everywhere in this flock.

A couple of Bay-breasted Warblers were found, but they were difficult to photograph. I had to work at this ID and had to rely on the undertail pattern. 

I would walk the center portion of the island but would not find any more warblers than this large flock.

Elizabeth Park (Trenton), Wayne, Michigan, US
Aug 19, 2024 7:41 AM - 9:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.264 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, sunny, 65F, breezy
25 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  120
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  13
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  6
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  2
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  3
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  2
Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus)  1
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)  2
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  2
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  2
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  7
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  2
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)  3
Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina)  4
Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia)  1
Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea)  1

Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca)  7

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S192035091

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)