Oklahoma Migratory Species Profile: Canada Warbler

This attractive, small warbler is uncommon within shaded deciduous undergrowth in mature forest along low, thick areas and many times along streams.

The necklaced warbler spends less time on the Boreal breeding grounds than most warblers, arriving late and leaving early.  It has also been known to breed along the Appalachians as far south as Georgia.  Due to overbrowsing by deer, deforestation, the wooly adelgid (a killer of hemlock and spruce), this passerine has been losing numbers.  In the Andes, where a large portion of these neotropical migrants overwinter, loss of habitat is hurting them on the opposite end of the spectrum.

As a strong flycatcher, it will flush insects while foraging along leaves and twigs, then darting out to catch escaped protein.  Also watch the ground, as they will forage among the leaves there,  Within dense foliage is can usually be located from a couple of feet from the ground to the higher canopies.  It will feel the effects of climate change as the years pass, and loss of forest due to clear cutting will take its toll.



               Canada Warbler
      Wikipedia/William Majoros

The male will have a darker necklace and a longer tail than the female.  They really are not dimorphic.  This passerine has thicker spectacles than most warblers, and fresh spring coloring will show a bright yellow chest, belly, and throat, as well as a dark gray back.  While nesting, they are often a Brown-headed Cowbird host.

Look carefully for the necklace, which will keep one from identifying it as a Magnolia Warbler and if there is a yellow throat, ID as a Yellow-throated Warbler.  During the fall, it is not difficult to determine the identity of this bird.  The adult male will show strong similarity to the spring male, but sometimes slightly duller with fringing upon the crown.  The female adult will have an olive cast to her upperparts, missing the black in her plumage.

Oklahoma Migratory Species Profile: Palm Warbler

This long tailed tail-pumper is a ground forager that breeds in the Boreal Forest of Canada and the northeastern US.  As breeders in the north, they will use evergreen trees and dense cover in boggy habitat.   Similar to a pipit, it can be helpful to confirm the identity with the yellow around the vent and rump as well as the white corners on the tail.  For a warbler, they are on the larger side and have a rounder belly.

Its song is a buzzy trill with a common chek call.  During fall migration, it will often be seen with kinglets, sparrows, Pine, and Yellow-rumped Warblers.  As migrants and winter birds, this songbird will be seen along forest edges, weedy fields, parks, coastal scrubland, and with scattered trees and shrubbery.  The New World Warbler is normally found in the western two thirds of the US, and is called either the Brown Palm Warbler or the Western Palm Warbler.  The Eastern Palm Warbler will be located in the eastern third of the US.

They constantly bob the tail, are on the ground more than other warblers, and are fond of berries as well as protein, sometimes being seen hawking insects if in a tree or on a shrub.  They are more at eye level or below, rather than higher canopies like many other warblers.

                                                          Western Palm Warbler
                                                         Boomer Lake Park, 2018


Palm Warblers are frequently victims of collisions with lighted towers.  It is also suspected that since the better part of these neotropical migrants breed in the Boreal Forest, they are losing population due to peat (moss) harvesting, logging, and tar sands development.

The species will use feeders if they find native plants and a good water source.

Oklahoma Migratory Species Profile: Nashville Warbler

A small plain, short-tailed warbler, with complete eyering, the Nashville Warbler is generally uncommon.  It  breeds in both the northern and western parts of the US, as well as southern Canada.  It does not migrate far, still enjoying a small part of the US in California and Texas, as well as Mexico and northern Central America.  They do not migrate across the Gulf of Mexico as many warblers do.

This bird was found by ornithologist Alexander Wilson near Nashville, Tennessee in 1881, and was aptly named as a bird of the eastern part of the country at that time.  It's climatic range is sending it north.

This common summer resident of the eastern US is closely related to the Orange-crowned Warbler.
Occasionally, one may be so lucky to see the red crown patch in both sexes, but it is even more rarely seen in the female of the species.

                                                                  Nashville Warbler
                                                        Boomer Lake Park, Spring 2017

They will be found in mixed species flocks during migration, as many warblers tend to be observed.  During fall migration, they can be found low as opposed to the spring and summer, when they are found higher in hardwood trees.  They are insectivores, enjoying caterpillars, beetles, flies, etc.

There are two distinct populations, which include the Western breeding subspecies (or Calaveras Warbler, which is duller colored) that wags its tail, and the Eastern, which does not.  The species commonly migrates through Oklahoma in both the spring and fall, including the Panhandle.

They are seldom parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird, and are threatened by climate change.

This warbler is a ground nester, found under brushy vegetation or small trees.

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Louisiana Waterthrush

Having a sweet, clear and musical song, this uncommon bird seeks standing water undergrowth in wood swamps where bald cypress, cottonwood, tupelo, weeping willow, etc. are found.  The migrants of spring will be within dense brush adjacent to water.  These are one of the early birds in spring to arrive, and they look for bubbling springs in the remotest of habitat to perch to sing their lovely, lilting song.

This thrush-like new world warbler breeds in the eastern part of Oklahoma, enjoying many wet areas.  It it has a plain brown back with a white belly and a streaked breast with buff flanks.  The bright white eyebrow will separate this bird from the almost identical Northern Waterthrush, which also is seen in the area in summer.   It bobs while it walks, like the Spotted Sandpiper.

https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2018/08/oklahoma-breeding-bird-species-profile_15.html

                                                             Louisiana Waterthrush
                                                            High Island Texas, 2015

When establishing territory, the male will sing nonstop, but when he finds a mate, his singing is then restricted to the morning.  Breeding habitat is near running water and dense vegetation to build a nest in a mud bank, in a rock crevice or within roots of trees.  This behavior is very similar to the American Dipper.  https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2018/07/species-profile-american-dipper.html

The warbler forages in leaf litter seeking ground insects, or salamander and small fish if the insects are rare.  They also depend upon flies, aquatic insects, and mollusks.

They are a declining species due to loss of habitat, channelization of rivers, impounding streams to create reservoirs, and pollution.  It is also threatened by logging, excessive irrigation, urbanization, and gas drilling.

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Northern Parula

In springtime, this delightful small wood warbler can be seen actively moving in upper tree branches seeking insects.  The Northern Parula, about the size of a kinglet, is one of those wee birds.  This multicolored delicate bird likes moist deciduous evergreen or mixed woods.  It can be found near any body of water and beard or Spanish moss is necessary for nesting.  Spanish moss will be found in the forests of the South, while beard moss grows in the northern areas.

This is usually a mid- to upper-story canopy bird that hovers for insects, but usually remains out of sight.  It is similar to a chickadee clinging to branches upside down.  They are actually quite friendly and tame when encountered.

                                                                  Northern Parula
                                               South Padre Island Convention Center, 2014

A breeder of the east, Northern Parula families are readily found in eastern Oklahoma.  The female is a pendulum nest builder in their favored moss of the region.  Sometimes clumps of vegetation and tangled vines are used for nest building.  At times the female will build a concealing veil above and around the nest, so it might only be visible from under it.  It takes about four days to build.  Though she is the sole incubator, she leaves the nest quite often to forage.  Both sexes feed the young, but the greater share is done by the female.

The original name for the Northern Parula was the Finch Creeper.   The species is known to hybridize with the Yellow-throated Warbler, and the offspring are called Sutton's Warbler.  They are extremely rare

One of the earliest spring migrants for warblers, this New World Warbler is found on the breeding grounds in April or May, with fall migration from September through mid-October.

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Common Yellowthroat

Witchety-witchety-witchery-witchery-witch

This song signifies the Common Yellowthroat, a warbler that isn't always out in the open.  It deliberately makes itself scarce, if it is in the vicinity of its nest.  They will often hop out of the nest and run along the ground to keep its location under wraps.

The male wears his black mask well and has a bright yellow throat.  These warblers are often in the confines of marshes, weeds, reeds, within willows, brush, and tall grass.  There are four regional types that differ to some degree, mostly in assorted coloration, but size matters, too, when it comes to these males.  There is also a minor difference in dialect.  Groupings include the Eastern, West, Southwest, and Pacific varieties.  They prefer wet areas, but have been seen in drier locations, as well.

                                                         Male Common Yellowthroat
                                                            Boomer Lake Park, 2014

These warblers are quite frequently on the move, flitting from grass to plant and back, climbing up and down weed stems, catching insects in midair.  Flights are short, and the female is rarely observed.

Wood warblers such as these will dine upon seeds, insects, spiders, and assorted larvae.  The nest is built by the female on the ground, usually under assorted vegetation or leaves, or within a short distance from the ground with what resembles a roof.

                                                    Juvenile Male Common Yellowthroat
                                                            Santa Ana NWR, TX 2017

It is a widespread species, found all over the country and in southern Canada and Mexico.  It may winter from southern Texas to the northern portion of South America.

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Prothonotary Warbler

Tsweet-tsweet-tsweet-tsweet-tsweet-tsweet-tsweet!

These sounds are familiar in wooded, tick infested swamps with a creek or standing water.  It is a clear, metallic song, and you should be able to observe this beauty, close to eye level once it gets to know you.

The male has a bright yellow head and breast with steel blue wings and black eyes and bill.  The species was named after Catholic clergy due to its primarily yellow attire.

A cavity nester, the pair will flit in and out of the old woodpecker hole that they have chosen, which is anywhere from seven to eighteen feet almost directly over the water.  When it is nearly May in Oklahoma, one waits with bated breath for this beautiful bird.

A New World Warbler, or wood warbler, the prothontary is an insectivore, and he will build several incomplete nests, while the female opts to build the real nest.  The birds favor insects and snails, which is why they are in favor of living by water, which tends to attract both of those food sources.  They will also eat seeds and rely on nectar, if necessary.

                                                          Male Prothonotary Warbler
                                                                  Red Slough, 2016

One of two cavity nesting warblers, it is often a victim of Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism.

These birds will use nest boxes, an old rural mailbox placed in or by the water, as well as old Downy Woodpecker cavities, and is often in the same area as other species of concern, namely the Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Red-headed Woodpecker.  They winter in mangrove swamps and lowland forests of creeks and streams in Central and northern South America.

This photograph was taken after trying to obtain one for a couple of years.  The bird was practically two feet away from my knees, perched over standing water in a swamp.  It had been calling to me, but due to the darkness, I was unable to see it at first.  It patiently waited while I got my shots, then returned to the nest cavity, not far from where I was standing.  It was worth the eight ticks to finally get this picture.

                                                        Male Prothonotary Warbler
                                                             Boomer Creek, 2017