Coveted Wilson’s Warbler found in Palgrave
Tuesday August 31 2010
By Phyllis Graydon, On the Wing-more from this author
A warbler coveted by many birders is the Wilson’s, and if lucky, we might spot a couple each season. So far I have not found any in our area. Not so for the Mortons from Palgrave as they had two in their backyard this past week. They were in the pagoda dogwood with Red-eyed Vireos darting about catching insects. These warblers were returning from their breeding grounds in northern Alaska east to Newfoundland and heading to their wintering grounds in Mexico, Texas, and south to Costa Rica and Panama.
The Wilson’s are yellow warblers without wing bars or pale patches on their tails. Adults have black caps (smaller in females), with a bright yellow stripe over the eyes.
Their black eyes stand out on an otherwise featureless face.
In nesting season they prefer shrubbery such as alder, willow and dwarf birch in moist places. Nests are placed on the ground, often at the base of a shrub or on grass hummocks. Their bulky nests of leaves are lined with fine grasses and hair. Four to six eggs are laid and incubated by the females.
In migration they still prefer the moist areas with all of the shrubbery where they dart about catching insects. They have the habit of nervously twitching their tails. These were delightful warblers to find in a backyard.
The Brasiers have had a real beehive of activity at their house on Patterson Sideroad where a pair of Broad-winged Hawks nested earlier this year. One of the adults has been teaching a juvenile how to hunt prey, the prey being the Brasiers flock of goldfinches or one of the many chipmunks. These crow-sized buteos will soon be returning to their wintering grounds in Mexico to Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador and northern Peru.
In late August, Tom Kavanagh from Caledon East reported a pair of House Wrens nesting in one of his nest boxes. This is getting rather late for the young to fledge before migrating south.
There are still a few lingering Indigo Buntings on Castlederg Sideroad, mixed in with a flock of chickadees. Otherwise it has been quiet in my home area.
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