June 8 2019. Puslinch, ON. Post-May birding, although different, can be very rewarding. Behind them (and us) is the competitiveness of April and May’s migratory rush: the competition is to get to the breeding grounds, to take and hold territory, and to find a mate. From the birders point of view the birds have stopped coming to us, if we want to see them we have to seek them out; now it’s more like work.
Three of us explored an area of thick cedar forest, open bushy fields, wetlands and an abandoned quarry. I’d been there a few times before and had an idea what to expect, for my companions it was all eye-opening.
We did well to encounter 36 species three of which stood out in particular: three Black and White Warblers (two heard and one seen up close), a bonded pair of Black–billed Cuckoos, and, Birds of the Day, two Blue–winged Warblers. The two Blue-wings were on sentry duty, each on his own territory, and they monitored our presence closely. Like so many warbler species they are quite breathtaking to see and I like the way the black eye stripe seems to mirror the bird’s bill.
We wrapped up our morning by following the course of a clear trout stream through a dark cedar forest until we reached the road where I’d parked. There were few birds along this stretch but we could hear the song of a Black–throated Green Warbler.