Nashville and Bay-breasted Warblers

RBG. Hendrie Valley, Burlington ON. October 16^th. 2020. Yesterday was another nasty weather day, the third in two weeks, it made me want to get out on a freshly-washed morning with the possibility of interesting birding.

The day was dazzlingly bright and the air full of the taste and scent of ripeness. Maple, ash and oak leaf colours were eye-popping and, while for now, there are more leaves on the trees than off , the next two weeks will likely see a big change.

I trudged some of my familiar trails and came to the realization that the big flush of fall birds is probably behind us.  Any bare branches now rattle on their own with no-one to share them. I saw almost nothing unusual until a tiny movement on the opposite bank of the creek caught my attention, it was a Nashville Warbler picking and searching in the collapsing debris, an eye-catching flash of lemon yellow. It reminded me of another Nashville seen five years ago almost to the day, and not 100 M from this bird. I wrote about it then with an account that could, just as easily, have described today.

Just as that time before, I was inspired by this little Nashville Warbler and started keeping notes for the day. I soon added a Winter Wren, (which may have decided on this sheltered valley as its home for the winter) a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Hermit Thrush or two and a surprise Eastern Towhee. And that was it…

…until before heading home, I paid a quick visit to the nearby cemetery, just in case.  I wandered the forested edges of a small enclave of headstones but it was all was pretty bird-less.  I paused to rest in a sun-warmed spot and a little movement caught my eye. To cut short what could be a needlessly long story, for perhaps half an hour I followed the efforts of an actively feeding Bay–breasted Warbler. It was far more interested in seeking scraps of wriggling food than any threat from my presence. Of course, I hoped for a photo but it moved quickly and restlessly and nine times out of ten was half-a-second jump ahead of me and my camera. I ended up with a small handful of photos to confirm the identification and perhaps to warm a January day.

For me, seeing a Bay-breasted Warblers is a rare treat, particularly in spring when they are late arrivals and can be very difficult to find and follow in the newly opened upper-canopy levels. So, spending time today studying and enjoying this admittedly rather drab, fall-plumaged, bird at such close quarters was something of a privilege.

The bright yellow splash of the Nashville Warbler made it an immediate Bird of the Day but it was nudged aside to give equal billing to the Bay–breasted Warbler for many satisfyingly close (if fleeting) looks.