The first of June is the end of warbler season and time to look back at what we saw and what we missed. We’ll see them again when they come back through in the fall . . . but it’s not as much fun as their colors are duller and the migration is spread across a more leisurely period.
We saw our first warbler of 2017 on January 1st . . . on one of those fluke sighting that make birding so much fun. We were driving through Cape Elizabeth, Maine on the way to see some Harlequin Ducks when we noticed a bunch of “our people” standing on a small beach by the side of the road. We define “our people” as folks in LL Bean gear, expensive binoculars, huge camera lens and spotting scopes . . . staring into a pine tree. Anyway, Ingrid jumped out and learned that an Orange-crowned Warbler was hanging out in some shrubs, probably living on snow fleas. We saw it and got some great photos.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”270″ display=”pro_mosaic”]In mid-April we went to the Texas Gulf coast, hoping to see warblers arriving after their exhausting migration across the Gulf of Mexico. We stayed just south of High Island one of the more famous birding spots in the country. Unfortunately, the warblers were slow to arrive this year and the High Island regulars said it was disappointing. While the warbler end of our Texas trip was discouraging, we saw over a hundred other species and came home happy (and we did get 5 lifer warblers).
After arriving home, we got another 7 warbler species including a Canada Warbler (a lifer).
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”271″ display=”pro_mosaic”]Unfortunately, warbler season ended without a Blackburnian, Cape May, Magnolia and Palm Warbler . . . we’ll have to do better during our Big Year.
| Bird | Date | Location |
| Orange-crowned Warbler | 01/01/2017 | 1100 Shore Rd Cape Elizabeth ME United States |
| Hooded Warbler | 04/14/2017 | 1946 Front St Port Bolivar TX United States |
| Worm-eating Warbler | 04/14/2017 | 1946 Front St Port Bolivar TX United States |
| Yellow Warbler | 04/15/2017 | 2102 S 5Th St Port Bolivar TX United States |
| Northern Parula | 04/15/2017 | 2081 S 5Th St Port Bolivar TX United States |
| Kentucky Warbler | 04/16/2017 | 1946 Front St Port Bolivar TX United States |
| Blue-winged Warbler | 04/16/2017 | 2102 S 5Th St Port Bolivar TX United States |
| Louisiana Waterthrush | 04/18/2017 | 2102 S 5Th St Port Bolivar TX United States |
| Pine Warbler | 04/18/2017 | 1163–1255 High School Rd Port Bolivar TX United States |
| Black-and-white Warbler | 05/02/2017 | 11 Alewife Run Westport Island ME United States |
| Black-throated Green Warbler | 05/04/2017 | 56 Cushman Point Rd Wiscasset ME United States |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | 05/04/2017 | 2–98 Bonyun Rd Westport Island ME United States |
| Wilson’s Warbler | 05/18/2017 | 54–68 Butler Head Rd Bath ME United States |
| Blackpoll Warbler | 05/18/2017 | 54–68 Butler Head Rd Bath ME United States |
| Canada Warbler | 05/18/2017 | 15 Osprey Rd Bath ME United States |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler | 05/20/2017 | Point Rd Dresden ME United States |