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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Spring Air Brings First Warblers!


Yesterday, amidst the 6" of freshly fallen spring snow, a dozen or so Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers flitted around our yard from suet feeder to suet feeder. The males are in their gorgeous breeding plumage: Deep blues and greys with bright yellow splashes on their heads, chest and on their butts (hence the casual term "butterbutt").


The females (below) are more drab, but still a beautifully-marked bird. And, perhaps more importantly: A very welcome reminder that warbler migration is actually underway and we'll be seeing more species over the next few weeks. It's been a long, long winter!


At first glance, the females might appear brown or grey, but they have bluish streaks throughout the feathers (visible in the above photo). They're really a beautiful mix of colors.


In addition to our suet feeders, they're feasting on peanuts. Both Yellow-rumped Warblers and Pine Warblers have a wider diet than many other warblers, allowing them to be some of the earliest returning migrants.

And, for my international viewers joining in on Wild Bird Wednesday, the Amer. Ornithologists' Union (AOU) has not followed the IOC (International Ornithological Congress) in re-splitting the four "yellow-rumped" warblers into individual species. Here in The States, we still have the "Myrtle" in the eastern half and the "Audubon" west of the Rockies.





19 comments:

  1. Great photos, Tami! Butterbutts are such cute warblers.

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  2. You got some awesome shots of these beauties! I never seem them at my feeders....only in the trees.

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  3. Great photos of beautiful birds. The plumage details are great. Love that yellow!

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  4. These are cracking photos, lovely colours

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  5. such a beautiful bird. Can´t remember seeing them before. Vey goos shots. :)

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  6. Beautiful bird and nice shots. I haven't seen them out here but that does not say they aren't here. We do have several Wablers here but I have not seen them all. MB

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  7. Wonderful pictures of the beautiful yellow-rumped warblers! (I'm lucky if I can identify them that far.)

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  8. Beautiful shots of the YellowRump Warblers. They are so cute!

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  9. just awesome! you get to see them all decked out in breeding plumage! i've only gotten to see them as they come thru in winter migration. still, grateful to see these cuties!

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  10. What a fitting name Butterbutt is. They are such pretty little things.

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  11. Beautiful pictures of this beautiful bird.
    This is not in Netherlands far as I know.
    Regards, Irma

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  12. I love the warblers at this stage! They are just getting these markings here, but I have yet to capture it successfully. Love the butter butts! :)

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  13. Very nice, I like seeing warblers and hearing them too.

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  14. These are new to me, I love the plumage and colour!

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  15. Great photos of the yellow-rumped warbler. I took a few photos of this warbler yesterday but your are way, WAY better.

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  16. Great photos!I rarely get great photos of birds like that and I can see an awesome Fox Sparrow shot next post down too. I don't think I've ever had a warbler come to my feeders, only the birdbath a couple of times.

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  17. Hi Everyone -

    Thanks so much for the nice comments :-) I've been crazy busy at work lately (98hrs in the last 12 days), and haven't had time to be online much. I really appreciate you visiting and taking the time to comment!

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