I hadn’t even reached the pond when the warbler show began in Estabrook Park this morning. There was a bit of black plastic on the grass just south of the middle parking lot, and as I reached down to collect it, I noticed a little movement in the hedge about 20 feet away.
When I saw the distinct and complete white eye ring, I figured it was a Nashville warbler, but they have yellow throats. Immature yellow warblers can have a slight eye ring, but they also have yellow throats. Mourning warblers have dark heads and throats, by they don’t have eye rings.
Thus, the process of eliminations suggests that we may be looking at the first Connecticut warbler (Oporornis agilis) that I’ve ever managed to capture on film. Naturally, I’ve asked the experts for confirmation, and I’ll let you know what they say, but if they do confirm my identification, that’ll be one heck of a welcome home, eh?
As soon as I turned around from the warbler, I watched this pretty little Swainson’s thrush fly into a fruit tree that the robins were raiding. It’s ears must have been ringing from my post yesterday.
Warblers and thrushes are not the only little birds on the move these days, and here’s an eastern warbling vireo in a tree beside the river. I usually hear one or two along the river all summer, but they went quiet a few weeks ago, so it is great to see one again.
Back to the warblers, here’s a Wilson’s, with its trademark black cap, in the next tree over.
Out on the water, it paid to count the mallards again today, ’cause that’s how I found these three darling little blue-winged teals. Here’s hoping that one of these days they’ll bring some of their cousins, the shovelers, with them.
Back up on the bluff, as I scanned the treetops for more warblers, I found our third yellow-billed cuckoo of the summer, instead. Holy Maceral!
Finally, there was a moth busily feeding on the hyssop blossoms in the pollinator garden, as though it were a clearwing moth or even a butterfly, but it clearly wasn’t either of them, and I believe that it is our very first soybean looper moth (Chrysodeixis includens), instead.
The forecast for tomorrow morning suggest we’re in for a repeat of today, so I can’t wait to see who’ll show up next.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 