A Study of Pine Warblers

This winter we have been hosts to three very distinct pine warblers. And they are all coming to the feeder station we have out. This year I have a hopper with mixed seeds, a small dish that usually has dried mealworms, and recently I have added back the Bark Butter feeder. The Bark Butter feeder is a fallen limb that I drilled 1" holes all the way through. It used to hang from a pine branch that I could reach with a long stick. This offered good protection from squirrels and other mammals. But then that branch fell in a storm and there isn't anything else that is within good reach that would also offer mammal protection. So it had been in the shed for a couple of seasons. 

This year we have been getting a lot of activity at the feeder including a family or two of bluebirds and the western tanager visitor talked about in my last post. That, plus being home most days now that I'm retired, means I can better keep up with the full suite of feeders. 

Among the many visitors are the pine warblers. We have pine warblers in the yard year-round and they would occasionally come to the feeders. But this year they are being regular visitors and with the distinct plumages, we can readily keep track of them. It also has been fun to watch their interactions. One day I had the camera out and took a lot of pictures. Here are some of the highlights including the plumage variations and some of their interactions.

This is the palest of the pine warblers. On the front (see image below), there is only a slight hint of yellow. When we first saw it from the front, we were thinking it might be something like an orange-crowned warbler. But the wing bars and overall behavior make it clearly a pine warbler. 

Pale pine warbler on Bark Butter feeder

Palest pine warbler on the mealworm feeder to the right

This is the brightest and the middle pine warblers both on the feeder pole. A downy woodpecker comes in and flushes the middle one.

The brightest and middle pine warbler both on the feeder

A downy flushes one off

The brightest has very strong, distinct streaking along its sides. Very pretty.

Brightest pine warbler showing streaking on its sides

The warblers like the mealworm feeder too. But it is small enough that they usually don't share. First we have the brightest pine warbler displacing the palest. And then the palest coming back but failing to displace a bluebird.

Palest pine warbler leaving as the brightest comes in to the feeder

Pine warbler approaching bluebird already on the feeder

And not being successful in displacing the bluebird

And finally, the palest attempting to approach the Bark Butter feeder that the brightest is defending

While the palest seemed to have a rough time of it accessing the feeders the day I had the camera out, that does not seem to be a regular pattern. Just a little run of bad luck.

It appears that we have two mixed flocks with different makeups of species and a few times a day, they arrive at the same time. Or maybe it is a large one that sometimes splits into two?? The middle and brightest often travel together while the paler one is the lone pine warbler in its smaller group. The groups have different numbers of chickadees and bluebirds as well. When they get together there doesn't seem like there is much fighting so that's good.

'Til next time ...

A Rare Start to the Year

My wife and I like starting the new year by spending time with the birds and seeing all the new-this-year species. We will pick a local area and spend most of the day visiting several birding hot spots. This isn't "Big Day" style birding but a day focused on being out there and seeing birds. And if the weather is decent, all the better.

This year our day started with watching the morning flock at our backyard feeder. For the past couple of days we had been hosting a Western Tanager. The tanager would generally show up with a big mixed flock of bluebirds, finches, several sparrows species, cardinals, pine warblers, and many others. This morning, the visit was cut short by a Cooper's Hawk swooping through the yard. But we still managed to see 13 species in 5 minutes of watching.

Western Tanager

Western Tanager

That was one rare bird seen to start the new year. Our next stop was at an fellow birder's who was hosting a rufous hummingbird. The hummingbird, like the tanager, is a western US bird that migrated east instead of south. We don't normally chase rare birds since we feel the payoff of seeing it and adding it to a list doesn't offset the usual long wait that frequently ends in totally missing the bird. This was the exact opposite. When we arrived at the house, two other people were there. After introductions and some small talk we started watching the feeder. A minute or two later, one of them turned to us and said, "you know that it is right here in this tree" and pointed about 20 feet away. And there is was sitting on a branch. It soon took to the air to grab a bug and return. It continued perching and flying around for the next ten minutes or so. Only then did it go to the sugar water feeder. That was rare bird #2 for the day and we had spent about 15 minutes of watching time. We also saw several other backyard birds sharing the space with the hummingbird.

Rufous Hummingbird

A couple of years ago we had good luck at a local farm where you can bird along a driveway through the fields. That time we saw snipe and Killdeer in the fields and several hawks species overhead. My wife wanted to see snipe to honor the those of last year and the first one we ever saw together, also coincidentally on New Year's Day.  However, this year the fields were really dry, it hasn't rained here in about two weeks, and we didn't see any birds in the fields. There were many turkey vultures in a neighboring field and a handful of rock pigeons on the wires. So we moved on.

While it wasn't particularly cold, there was a biting wind making standing in the open uncomfortable. So our next stop was a small boat launch park that was well protected. We saw four woodpecker species and our first American Robins of the year. After a coffee stop, we drove along a parkway that travels along the James River. 

After a couple of quiet stops we came across a mixed flock that gave us a lot of good views and hung around for a while. The flock was mainly White-throated Sparrows. Traveling with them were a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches, a pair of Hermit Thrushes, and three Eastern Towhees among more typical members like chickadees and titmice. 

Further along the parkway as we drove past a mowed patch, my wife saw a handful of Tree Swallows feeding. There is no parking on the side of the road there so we u-turned and passed back by slowly. And by slowly I mean creeping along at zero miles per hour as our attention was on the swallows. The swallows are eBird-rare, meaning they are unusual enough we have to provide additional justification. At a later stop we also saw a Laughing Gull that is also eBird-rare. Both are typical fall birds that probably winter only a little south of us so it isn't uncommon to see them in early winter or even through winter. But unusual enough to feel like a special treat. 

By this time the light was starting to fade and the cold was seeping into us, so we headed home with a total of 51 species seen. 

Great Blue Heron seen along the shore

A wonderful way to start the new year, in which I am now fully retired. So I plan to post more-- keep an eye here.