Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)
Here is a Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) performing a tree insect inspection a couple of weeks ago during the height of their migration through our region. This is a brilliantly marked male with quite a bit of black on his face, throat, breast, wings – everywhere. Whenever I post Black-and-white Warblers on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram I happen to notice how many people truly love them. Many of our neotropical migrants are well liked by even the non-birder, but everyone – everyone! – seems to go crazy over these classy birds, often declared a...
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Black-and-white Warblers (Mniotilta varia) were the most common migrant this spring in Connecticut for RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser, and he even thinks that breeding individuals may stick around at Audubon Greenwich. This is male on the left and female on the right. Only now is their migration finally winding down after a tremendous season for the species.
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I finally took some good photos of Black-and-white Warblers (Mniotilta varia) over the last few days as the species is peaking as a migrant in the Northeast. These stunning little birds never stop moving…and they move like a nuthatch, creeping and crawling along branches, vines and tree trunks for various insects and spiders. This nonstop motion makes them a difficult clean capture as their photos often end up a little blurry. At least this guy – while still not paying me any attention – paused for a moment or two while searching for prey on Sunday morning. I found an even...
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As Sean was seeing Black-and-white Warblers (Mniotilta varia) darting in and out of tropical trees only a week ago, he is very much looking forward to them being back in the Northeast with us. Here is a stunning male between the blossoms on the branch of an apple tree – always a great spot to find warblers! Photographed for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project.
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I couldn’t let Twan have all the fun with the Black-and-white Warblers (Mniotilta varia), and this little creeper was spotted last week as it furiously crawled and flew all around tree trunks for its insect prey. You can even see one such snack in the last photo. These birds seem like they have so much personality, but when they are visiting us in May they are move, too busy to stop to chat for too long. I am envious of anyone who gets to enjoy them while they are more relaxed on the wintering grounds. However, even then they are said to be aggressive and territorial. Did you know that...
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