Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were active and already beginning to build nests in northwest Ohio last week.
A Kirtland’s Warbler was a Life Bird for Paul, the rarest of the American warblers, and formerly one of the most endangered species – what luck!
Bay-breasted Warblers were commonly encountered but difficult to photograph until the very end of a most successful birding trip to Magee Marsh.
Black-throated Green Warblers were less common than other species, but all you need is one bird foraging at eye level to get good views and a few photographs.
Like many species, Magnolia Warblers have a definite 2-tone front and back to their plumage; this image features the back view, and the below photo shows the front.
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What must have been the peak day of spring, owing to the most beautiful weather, sunlight, and birds; last Thursday turned out to be one of my favorite days of warbler photography and one of my best days of songbird photography. I photographed some, while observing and appreciating many others in an ever-greener woodland on the southwest shore of Lake Erie in Ohio. It was my fourth day at Magee Marsh, one of the best locations to see and photograph an abundance of migrating songbirds, especially warblers – the best in my mind! Maybe that’s why they call it “The Warbler Capitol of the World.”
Thursday was a memorable day with a wonderful morning of birding and an afternoon with a similar abundance and variety of warblers, and it all ended with a half-hour of miraculous photo opportunities that would be hard to imagine and it’s harder to believe, even for me. I describe that entire warbler extravaganza in the Bird Photography feature in this issue, but I will reveal the stars of the show were all warblers including Bay-breasted, Chestnut-sided, Prothonotary, and Blackburnian Warblers within just a few feet and foraging at eye level – the answer to a bird photographer’s dream.
Another memorable episode occurred Wednesday afternoon while I was photographing a stunning male Black-throated Blue Warbler. This species is a stealthy warbler that tends to stay low, between eye level and ground level, and I followed this individual for about 200 yards through the tangles and openings in the swampy woodland. I noticed an ever-larger group of birders trained on a songbird 50 feet ahead of me, but I decided to stick with this beautifully colored eastern warbler that had the deepest blue color above set off by deep white and black plumage below.
That’s when a photographer I recognized came my way and said, “Y’all better git you some Kirtland’s Warbler over there.” I ‘bout screamed, but before I could open my mouth the rarest of all warblers flew in my direction, only to land 20 feet away on a branch about 15 feet high facing into the early afternoon sun. I quickly focused on the super-rare bird and took a couple rapid documentary photos before it bolted to the southwest. WoW, that was a Life Bird for me, the rarest of the American warblers, and formerly one of the most endangered species – what luck!
The last exciting episode among so very many remarkable warblers and other songbirds included a male Blue-winged Warbler foraging in an apple tree that was filled with flower buds, some of which were just beginning to blossom. This was only my second Blue-winged Warbler sighting ever, and I was able to take a series of photos of this impressive bird that shared the apple tree with Baltimore Orioles, a Chestnut-sided Warbler, and a Tennessee Warbler. As I switched my camera focus from one bird to another and back to the Blue-wing again, a Prothonotary Warbler flew in just below my position on the Marsh boardwalk, bathed in early evening sunlight – perfecto!
The Prothonotary seemed to be foraging from spider web to spider web just above the shore of the marsh, picking out small insects as it went, but stopping to sing regularly too. The glowing golden warbler was extremely close and I found a small opening in the branches to photograph through while surrounded by several other equally excited photographers positioned elbow to elbow. The light was perfect and while the action was fast and fun, the resulting photos were a true reward, as were some of the Blue-winged Warbler photos. You can see photos of both the Prothonotary and Blue-wing in my Bird Photography feature at the end of this issue.
All in all, I almost always had birds in sight, mostly warblers that numbered a total of at least 20 species along with vireos, thrushes, gnatcatchers, native sparrows, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Northern Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and a female Scarlet Tanager. Add to the diversity of songbirds the flights and calls of Sandhill Cranes, Trumpeter Swans, Bald Eagles, White Pelicans, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, and more – it is quite a remarkable birding location. There was nice sunlight about 95 percent of the time during my 4+ days at Magee Marsh, with the best hours from 7am to 11, and 4pm and 7:30. Each day there were miles of walking back and forth along the boardwalk, associated woods, and a bit of the Lake Erie beach sand. The walking was coupled with a lot of standing when photo-interesting birds were encountered; and I must share that it was tough on me physically, especially my feet, thighs, hips, shoulders, and neck. However, I made a surprisingly quick return to normal with a deep, long sleep Friday night.
I also want to be sure to share some insights about the many people I shared the area and many observations and photo sessions with: Birders are especially nice people – friendly, helpful, courteous, happy, engaged, generous, and more. At Magee Marsh, everyone shares the wooden boardwalk, which is about a mile long, and there are hundreds of people birding there during that peak songbird migration period; but that level of social birding is very rewarding among so many wonderful people – birders! Along the way, it’s amazing to see the variety and quality of equipment birders are using, mostly binoculars, cameras, and lenses. And it’s a testament to the draw of this songbird migration locale, fueled by The Biggest Week in American Birding festival from May 7 thru 15 this year.
Friday and Saturday I spent in transit driving the thousand miles home from Magee to southeast North Dakota. A highlight of that drive was spending a couple hours visiting with my niece Katy in her yard north of Minneapolis. Katy and her husband Jeff live in a beautiful location with mature trees and a shallow pond on the edge of their yard, and I suggested she add a Wood Duck nest box. About an hour later, as we enjoyed a relaxing outdoor visit, we observed a Wood Duck land in a tree no more than 30 feet away and enter a tree cavity in her yard! “I don’t need a nest box,” Katy said with a laugh. There was also a newly hatched brood of Mallard ducklings with a hen and drake in the little pond on the edge of her yard plus a trickle of songbirds through the trees – how lucky.
Sunday Home
At home again Sunday, Baltimore Orioles dominated my feeding station, one at a time – a yearling female, a couple females, and probably a couple males, although they are all pretty identical. Gray Catbirds were a close second with both species focusing on the grape jelly. A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird was the lone taker at my nectar feeder, and it returned many times and sometimes perched in a nearby bush that was just beginning to leaf out. Other ground-oriented yard visitors included an Eastern Towhee, Hermit Thrush, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows, and in adjacent elm tree, a Least Flycatcher, and Yellow Warbler. Monday brought a couple Swainson’s Thrushes and American Goldfinches, along with the catbirds and orioles, but no hummingbird. However, during Tuesday’s soaking rain a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird gorged on sugar-water nectar, and the orioles and catbirds were active too.
Migration at Melody’s Grove
My initial morning at Melody’s Grove on Sunday yielded a surprising variety of songbirds and flycatchers just a couple hundred yards southeast of home. This is a “migrant trap” like Magee Marsh, but on a much smaller scale. It’s the first grove of trees as migrants cross the open plains, located on the south side of an open woodland that covers a half-square mile, a place where migrating songbirds visit first as they make a morning stop after an overnight migration. This would be the center of my birding activities for the next 2+ weeks, and I was pretty surprised to see the diversity of birds Sunday morning. Notable birds included the first male Orchard Oriole, several male and female Baltimore Orioles, 8 warbler species including the early migrants – Yellow, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped, Black-and-White, Tennessee, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Waterthrush, and Blackpoll Warblers, the Blackpolls being the most surprising this early.
There were also Warbling Vireos, Brown Thrashers, Gray Catbirds, House Wrens, Least Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbirds, Clay-colored Sparrows, and Chipping Sparrows. A yearling Cooper’s Hawk flew to a high perch without raising a stir among the other birds, and the rarest bird of the morning was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – I’ve only seen one before in the area during previous years. The light was good for photographing songbirds and it was a fairly fast-paced morning to start the Grove’s spring migration season.
Due to more clouds than sun and a strong west wind, I half-heartedly checked back to the Grove at 6pm, but immediately had a few interesting birds on the edges so continued to the leeside. I was immediately taken aback by the action I viewed; it was as if a swarm of warblers had overtaken the Grove, foraging on the wing, in the trees, in the bushes, on the ground – wow! Something big happened during the 6 hours I was working; something like a big fallout of Yellow-rumped Warblers, mostly immatures and females, with more Blackpoll Warblers too. I picked out a spot where the branches of a tree poked into the blue sky and hoped for warblers to perch there with limited success, but it sure was fun seeing so many warblers in action so close to home.
Monday began as a beautiful blue sky morning without a hint of wind, but it was quickly evident that just as waves of songbirds arrive, waves leave. After the abundance of Yellow-rumped Warblers the previous evening, there was not one to be seen, and many other birds had resumed their migration north aside from a few Yellow Warblers and Blackpolls. A Northern Waterthrush provided my only photo op, although there were a couple new spring arrivals – a flock of Cedar Waxwings and 2 American Goldfinches.
It was exciting to witness the beginning of the parade of warblers, vireos, flycatchers, and other migrants that will stop at Melody’s Grove over the following 2+ weeks – until the end of May or beginning of June – hopefully the latter. After seeing northwest Ohio burst into a green and flowering oasis during my short visit, this week is beginning to reveal the new leaves of spring in my neighborhood, a most welcome color change to entice the birds of May. Enjoy these special days of the year with your binoculars and camera within reach – you will need them and appreciate them as new birds appear in your view – Hoooray!
Article and photos by Paul Konrad
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