Male Yellow Warbler
This male Yellow Warbler is ready to take up residence in your garden! Their abundance, friendliness, and usage of habitats in open areas and often near people help make them an easy target for Brown-headed Cowbirds. After the Yellows build their nest a female Cowbird may end up putting an egg in it as well. While some Yellow Warblers will end up raising this young bird to the detriment of its own, others will build another nest over the original parasitized one. It is always an odd sight to spot a huge Cowbird fledgling being fed by the little Yellow parent. But for now all this guy is...
Read MoreBrown-headed Cowbird Pair
Last week I saw my first Brown-headed Cowbirds of the year, one of the blackbird species well known for making their way north in March. Here you can see a pair feeding in grasslands with the female on the left and the male, sporting his brown head, on the right. The species is a brood parasite, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, with familiar backyard birds like the Yellow Warbler being a common victim. I have seen them feeding the comically enormous fledglings quite often! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreYellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)
Are your Yellow Warblers making any nests yet? It’s nearly time to find our little spring and summer visitors starting construction in the bright sunshine.
Read MoreYellow Warblers Migrating
Have you seen any Yellow Warblers at your home? These beautiful little birds will soon be out of the Jamestown area as they and other species are migrating south. They love to nest and stop over in yards and gardens during migration. We have seen several Yellow Warblers this week at RTPI in our gardens along with birds like Chestnut-sided Warblers, Baltimore Orioles, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Blue-winged Warblers, Great Crested Flycatchers, American Redstarts, and more. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been pushing through in large numbers and using our feeders. The feeder area also attracted a...
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