Sunday, January 3, 2016

Yellow-throated Warbler is back at the feeder (rare bird in Maine)

Final update of the day: 7 people visited, and 7 people successfully saw the warbler. Yay! Now, if I could only find the time to photograph the warbler again, myself! So much work...so little time... Warning: Oh, by the way...make sure you are careful when walking on the yard. It is getting slick where the snow has been trampled down. I wore my yak trax out there to stay safe this evening. It is beginning to ice up. P.S. Don't forget to sign the visitor's log located on top of the cement well;-)

Update: 2:25 pm Dwight and Bernice Sommers arrived to try to catch a glimpse of the warbler. And at 2:45 pm Barb Brennenean arrived. All three folks saw the warbler at 2:52 pm.
Dwight said:
Three of us did see the warbler at 2:52. There was a downy at the suet at that time and the yellow throated flew onto the ground below. He didn't end up feeding but flew into the evergreen. Thanks for allowing us to come and enjoy your special visitor in our town!
Awesome...and this was while we were allowing our Greyhounds to play with their buddies (which makes a total ruckus as they romp and rumble;-) I was so worried that this would make bird watching impossible...

Update: 1:30 pm Janet returned in the hope of seeing the warbler. She saw it at around 1:50 pm. It was foraging around at the base of the bird feeder tree for several minutes, possibly picking up bits and pieces of suet that have dropped to the ground. Then, it flew over toward Neighbor Ernie's honeysuckle shrub. Janet said:
Thanks again, Laurie for opening your yard! I waited and in about 10 more minutes the warbler came back, repeated the same behavior. So I got two good "visits" with that bird.
Update: 12:47 pm Laurie - I happened to glance out the window and saw the warbler clinging to the tree waiting for a hairy woodpecker to finish its suet meal. Then, it flew off. This warm weather seems to suit our little warbler quite nicely, thank you Mama Nature.

Update: 11 am Jody Hartman and Nick Aschauer arrived and saw the warbler at 11:45 am. 
The bird flew in and foraged on the ground to the south of the feeder tree for a few minutes and flew off.
Update: 9am Rob Speirs came over and saw the warbler:
Photos by Rob Speirs
9:18AM the YTWA made a brief appearance.  Foraged on suet and inspected crevices in tree bark...2 minutes tops. Wasn't there more than 15 minutes.....took my chair and sat by the concrete pillar to minimize silhouette and movement.  Heard the Chickadees, nuthatches, et al, and then in came the warbler.  Great looks and able to get excellent photos. ....thanks to Laurie and Drew
Rob Speirs Cumberland
Update: 6:56 am Laurie - I saw the warbler sitting on the branch next to the suet feeder. Before I could get the camera focused (it was somewhat dark out), he had gotten a bit of suet and flown off. Maybe he prefers the quiet of the early morning, before any of the other birds or wildlife have arrived.

Ralph Eldridge has more good points to make, and is very helpful to me. Gee... who knew that birding had so many complexities! Ralph says,
It looks like things are developing much the way that they did for me. That's great.As I mentioned, most visits to the suet are apt to be "grab & go", not leisurely lunches.Those early visits are likely routine. I also suspect that those 2pm visits are misleading. I suspect that your warbler is dashing in a few times at & after sunset, fueling up to weather the night.
The Warbler's day probably unfolds something like this: an early breakfast at a reliable restaurant, a day inspecting the neighbourhood for epicurean treats, supplemented with occasional feeder snacks, and rounded off with a hearty, fatty supper. Through all of our speculation runs a vein of "necessity".  The bird's visits undoubtedly are synced to its foraging success.
There's your next mystery: Where does he forage most regularly or predictably?It looks like you've identified one spot and I'm sure that more will develop.
One question: can you identify him by shape and flight pattern? Once I got those my sighting rate jumped. I had been missing quite a few of those fast visits because of back lighting and busy feeders.

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