7 minute read
September in Nature
NATURE in september story and photos by Matt Perry
Nashville Warbler
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September is a pivotal month in nature. It is the time when the night air takes on a bite; a tangible reminder that summer is coming to an end. It is a time when foliage begins changing color and trees start preparing for their long period of dormancy. September is when most migrating songbirds leave their northern breeding grounds and begin their epic journeys south. Birding in September can be an amazing experience. A challenging one too – sorting out the various fall plumages of so many warbler species and getting their sexes and ages correct. This kind of identification work comes easy to few people. Those willing and able to put in the hours (and years) can become proficient at sorting out species. What does one receive for gaining such an ability? Nothing – except for the magical power of being able to see a world of diverse birdlife that most other human beings are completely ignorant of.
The peak of warbler migration happens around mid-month. Last year on Wednesday, September 18th, I walked around the nature sanctuary with the goal of censusing birds, particularly neotropical songbirds like warblers, vireos, thrushes, and tanagers. On that morning, I had with me another birder of exceptional skill. She was new to the area but was already one of the Mohawk Valley’s best and brightest bird people. Within a half-hour, she was able to correctly identify several warblers merely from the contact notes the birds gave. “That’s a Nashville Warbler …and that note sounded like it came from a Black-throated Green Warbler!”, she said with infectious enthusiasm. Of course, she was right. I was able to visually confirm both birds. The Nashville Warbler was a dull-colored immature with a pale-yellow underside and a barely discernible white eyering. The Nashville Warbler flitted impatiently from branch to branch in the crown of an expansive Black Willow Tree. For the most part, the bird remained hidden by the foliage it was inspecting. The Black-throated Green Warbler was more out in the open. It was a full adult male donning breeding plumage. His throat patch was jet black and his face was greenish-yellow. As is typical for the species, his movements through the branches were more plodding, so it was easy for us to track him with our binoculars. He was circumnavigating the lower part of the crown of the same tree where we glimpsed the Nashville Warbler. The Black-throated Green Warbler hopped out to the end of a twig and then executed a free-fall. Before hitting the ground, he swooped back up to a low branch and began eating the insect he caught during the drop.
We had moved only ten feet up the access road when I heard a contact call that sounded to
me like a Tennessee Warbler. It was a barely audible “sip” call that any normal human would disregard or dismiss as an insect sound. Not my friend. She heard it loud and clear as if it were the sound of a clanging church bell and she knew what it was before I uttered a word. “I just heard a Tennessee Warbler fly over!” she said. I was duly impressed and would have handed over the warbler identification badge for Oneida County if such a thing existed and if I had it in my possession. Sure enough, along with two of its comrades, the little bird had landed near the very top of the same willow where we had seen the other warbler species. That willow was the place to be on that day, for birds and birders alike! After spending some time scrutinizing them, we could see that the three Tennessee warblers were identical and perhaps originated from the same brood. It was likely they hatched somewhere in a Canadian forest back in June or early July. The presumptive siblings were very active in their flitting and foraging and it was hard to track them with binoculars. They were all dull yellow on the underside (like the Nashville Warbler) and had no wingbars. Instead of an eye-ring, they showed a distinctive eyeline across the face. The eyeline was the only distinct thing about the species’ juvenile plumage. Had they been adults they would have looked much different; they would have white undersides, greenish
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The warbler parade was momentarily interrupted by a Brown Thrasher that perched atop a dead elm tree at the border of the meadow. The rich brown of the bird’s back was set beautifully against an azure morning sky. The thrasher turned around, swiveling its body and long tail on its perch until it faced our direction. The bird’s underside was white but heavily marked with dark brown spots. It looked like an exaggerated drawing of the similarly plumaged Wood Thrush. The thrasher let loose a loud “smack” call and then sailed into the hedgerow. Just then a long and slightly raspy contact note was heard from a different bird – one that was flying up from the same hedge. My friend and I looked at each other as our brains tried to process the call. I spoke first and said it was either a Bay-breasted Warbler or a Blackpoll Warbler, but there was an outside chance it could be a Blackburnian Warbler. All three birds produce similar contact calls and birders select one at their peril. She agreed with my equivocations but was putting her money on the Bay-breasted Warbler. Of course, she was correct. A few seconds later, I had a juvenile Bay-breasted Warbler in my binoculars. It was high up in the Black Willow. The bird was in juvenile plumage and so it lacked the bright “bay” colored flanks, throat, and cap. However, it did have a slight bay-colored wash on its sides. Otherwise, it was a yellowish bird with clear white wingbars and a streaked back.
I have said it before in these pages: nothing beats spring migration. That is when all the birds are in breeding plumage and singing melodious songs. However, if you want a real challenge, try birding in September when breeding plumaged migrants are far and few between and there are no easily identifiable songs to aid your identifications. My friend had proven her abilities to me on that morning and would continue to impress me on a few subsequent walks. I encourage all to get out there, find a grove of willow trees or a forest edge, and try your hand at warbler identification. If you keep at it, in a few years I may be handing the warbler identification badge over to you! •
Tennessee Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-Throated Green Warbler
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