Mid-July Warblers

Today was predicted to be hot and muggy so I wanted to get in a walk early in the morning. I arrived at the park around 6:45am and this was the earliest I've hiked in a long time. In addition, I had intended to make it all the way around today –another thing I've not done very often as of late. I had my new lens with today as well so I was bound and determined to get a few decent bird photos. There are still two species of Warblers that can be found –American Redstarts and Common Yellowthroats, and I figured I would be happy if I could get a good shot of either one. But before I had an opportunity at either of these birds, I was in for an even better surprise. From a distance I'd spotted what looked to be a female American Redstart, but it quickly moved up into the thick part of a Buckthorn tree. When I got closer, I looked up and into the area and saw a little bird with even more color than I expected. I thought "hey, that looks almost like a Chestnut-sided Warbler." As the bird came into an open area through the leaves, I realized it was indeed a Chestnut! The last CSW I've seen at Palmer Lake was in May. This is the time when the vast majority of them are heading even further north to their breeding grounds in northern Minnesota and Canada. But what was this one doing here? Well, for one thing it's color and pattern did not look quite fully formed, meaning that it's likely a juvenile. I didn't notice at the time, but it's tail is extremely short and stubby, another sign that the bird is not fully developed yet. So the big question now is this; is this an early migrant that fledged further north and is making it's way south? OR, is this possibly a bird that was born and fledged right here in Palmer Lake Park? Though I've not seen a single CSW in the Twin Cities area since May, it IS entirely possible that this bird fledged within or near Palmer Lake Park. The reason is that if you look at what's called a "range map" for a Chestnut-sided Warbler, the Twin Cities metro area is near the southern-most edge of their "summer range." Not too long after this exciting sighting, I ended up having my best chance at the bird I was most determined to capture today –a Common Yellowthroat. This was in a more open area where the wood chip trail runs along the cattails on the south side. There was a dead shrub sticking up out of the cattails and as my luck would have it, this beautiful male Yellowthroat decided to perch here for a brief moment. Earlier on my walk I actually saw a female Common Yellowthroat which for me this year has been much harder to find. I got an OK pic but not as good as this one of the male. But before my walk was over, I ended up having a much closer encounter with one more Warbler –the American Redstart. This particular bird (another male) came within very close proximity and actually stayed put! This is something Redstarts –and other Wablers for that matter– rarely do! The bird was in kind of a darker area shaded by the canopy of trees and I ended up not having my camera set very well to compensate. Thus these photos have been lightened up considerably. But despite this oversight, I was pleased to see how much detail came through on some of my shots! Even in person, this little guy appeared pretty mangy and beat up. Some of his tail feathers seemed to be broken off and he was just overall rough looking. But despite his appearance he sat there singing away. There have been times I have seen Redstarts sit still for a while and I would say it always seems to be later in the season, long after they've adjusted to their new surroundings after arriving in early Spring. This guy surely beat the record though for holding still and I shot 57 photos of him alone! Another thing that I liked about my view of this bird was that I could see some detail in his face and eye, which is something that doesn't always come across in a photo because they are just so black on the head. It's shabby appearance and uncommon cooperative behavior makes me wonder if this too was a juvenile bird! Oh and just a few other birds that were spotted today; Gray Catbird, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, American Goldfinch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak (female) and Cedar Waxwing.