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Do warblers warble?

But first I had to check my albums. Do warblers even return in the fall?

Indeed they do though, according to my records, their appearances are scantier: fewer of them with shorter visits. That said, I have marked the Black-and white in October, the Blue-winged in August, Connecticut in September, the Hooded actually three times in August, the Magnolia twice in September, the Nashville six visits between July and September, Wilson’s one each in August and September, and the Yellow (the most frequent) seldom here in August.

Before getting into specific birds, let’s first ask my question; do warblers warble?

According to “Easy tips to Identify Every Warbler You See” which I found on the i-net, “most don’t actually have a warbling quality.” (p 19)

Dunn and Garrett of the Audubon series have quite a lot to teach us (once I discovered where to look in their book): “Vocalizations of wood-warblers mainly fit into two categories. Songs are generally more complex vocalizations, given almost exclusively by males, which serve such functions as mate attraction and territory advertisement. Call notes, in contrast, are relative simple vocalizations, often single syllables, which serve a variety of functions but primarily signify both location and temperament of the calling bird.” Wouldn’t it be nice to have a single note that signified our temperament at any given moment? Or do we?

Returning to the subject at hand: “Wood-warbler songs vary from series of thin, high-pitched notes, through lower-pitched trills or buzzes, to complex whistled or chanting crescendos. . . The ‘chip’ calls of different warblers vary in loudness, quality (e.g., ‘sweet,’ ‘metallic,’ or ‘hard’), and ‘shape’ (e.g., flat vs. down-slurred).”

I selected two August visitors who were kind to pose for really good pictures – if while in their ICU. Both recovered quickly. It’s always such a exciting delight to be able to watch a caged bird fly free again.

Dunn & Garrett: “The Blue-winged Warbler has a long, sharp bill and a bold, dark line through the eye in all plumages, along with white undertail coverts [feathers that cover the bases of the quills of the wings and tail] that contrast with the yellow underparts. The blue-gray wings with whitish wing bars and mostly extensive white in the outer three pairs of tail feathers are distinctive among warblers with plain olive upperparts and unmarked yellow underparts.”

We also learn that there are minimal differences between the birds as far as sex or age goes. There is, however, a remarkable change in the color of its bill with the varying seasons.

The bird is happy in many types of habitats including old pastures, cleared woodlands and their edges. They prefer to breed where there’s an abundance of shrubs, herbs and weeds. You may find them hanging upside-down to pick at leaf and twig surfaces. They use that bill to open curled leaves and leaf buds and frequently probe long climbing vines. Most feeding occurs at low to middle heights, hardly ever on the ground. A column from “the Spruce” says because all warblers are insect eaters, they’ve evolved to feed at different heights to leave room for the needs of many of their relatives.

I see I gave the Hooded a full column six years ago but perhaps your memory isn’t any sharper than mine so I’ll be forgiven if I repeat myself. Time to check back in with D&G:

“A black hood, extending from the crown through the hindneck and throat, setting off the yellow face and forehead, is present in the males; adult females also show a variable amount of black in the hood. The underparts are bright yellow and the upperparts yellow-olive in all plumages. All birds show much white in the outer three pairs of rectrices [tail feathers], this varying slightly by age and sex. All plumages also show a spot of blackish or dusky olive in the lores [space between he eye and bill].

“This is a medium-sized warbler with a fairly long, square-tipped tail, stout legs, and a relatively large bill. The dark eye is large and conspicuous.”

Keep an eye open for the rapidly opening and closing of the tail, an action which occurs more than once a second. Their nests are frequently robbed by others with high cowbird parasitsm rates so renesting occurs frequently and may continue through the end of summer.

Do keep your eyes open for these distinctive two warblers.

Susan Crossett has lived in Arkwright for more than 20 years. A lifetime of writing led to these columns as well as two novels. “Her Reason for Being” was published in 2008 with “Love in Three Acts” following in 2014. Information on all the Musings, her books and the author may be found at Susancrossett.com.

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