Chestnut-sided Warbler
Whether you have a beautiful weekend of weather coming or have to dodge some rain or storms, get outside when you can and enjoy this! The Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) certainly thinks things are looking up…
Read MoreChestnut-sided Warbler
The Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) is one of the most unique of our warblers in terms of appearance, though this bird is not quite showing all of that chestnut, black or bold yellow yet. It is likely a first spring male that was still coming into his plumage in early May. He was very friendly and cooperative for both photos and prolonged binocular views, allowing a group of birders to enjoy him posing while foraging without the use of any pishing or song playbacks. In my experience the best tactic for spring migratory birding is often just to move slowly, be quiet and...
Read MoreChestnut-sided Morning
It was a decidedly Chestnut-sided morning for Twan recently, with this cooperative Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) enjoying the rising sun. How can you not love these birds? The fact they make the journey all the way from places like Costa Rica, where RTPI works on the ground to understand their wintering range, behavior, foraging and more, to our yards is truly astounding. Their good health is our mission year-round!
Read MoreWhite-shouldered Tanager (Tachyphonus luctuosus)
Here we have a male White-shouldered Tanager (Tachyphonus luctuosus) a common tanager in forested and open habitat areas such as plantations. They have a very similar coloration to the White-lined Tanager and are difficult to distinguish quickly, but with some practice and a little time one can note their size differences and the varying amount of white in the wing. Like most tanagers they can be found in mixed feeding flocks with a large variety of species. Sean often finds them mixed in with our friends the Tennessee and Chestnut-sided Warblers. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser...
Read MoreChestnut-sided Warbler close-ups
Today while conducting field work for several hours at a few sites in Pennsylvania I enjoyed numerous great looks at Chestnut-sided Warblers. These birds of shrub/scrub habitat and secondary growth are distinctive and beautiful in appearance and song. Whenever I see them now I am reminded of Twan and Sean and RTPI’s work in the tropics. In Costa Rica in the Chestnut-sided wintering range they enjoy watching the birds turn into little “meatballs” as they fatten up for the flight north. In fact a Chestnut-sided Warbler banded in Rara Avis was recaptured twice over a four year...
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