What's that Bird?

Spring migration is here! Dozens of warbler species from Central and South America make their annual pilgrimage to their breeding grounds in North America. One of my very favorite visitors is the bespectacled Prairie Warbler. Characterized by a bright yellow neck and belly with streaks of black that, to me, look like the glasses riding low on the nose of a librarian that just won’t tolerate any more noise. The warbler’s back is a patchwork of browns, olives and a burgundy patch at the base of the neck. What a stunner! The females are similar, but with an understated grey head in lieu of the male’s striking yellow.

The Prairie Warbler’s coloration and iconic facial markings are quite vibrant, but it’s their unique song that makes them fairly easy to find. I remember the first time I encountered one, six years ago in the back fields of the Stonybrook Watershed Institute preserve. I was low in the brush, hoping to see some of the meadow birds that the trail boasts. I heard the sound of a vintage digital camera with its escalating whirs. “Hello?” I said, thinking I had been out in the field alone.

The photographer didn’t answer, but kept taking pictures, marked by more escalating whirs. It took me a while, probably longer than it’s taken you to figure out that what I was hearing wasn’t a camera, but a bird with a very strange song. I finally spotted it, hopping around the tall grass. Wow. What a beauty! And that song….I’d never heard anything like it. It was kind of ‘digital buzzing’ instead of the flitting melodic songs common to most warblers.

Click on the sound icon through this link.

Listening for their call is a great way to locate them. Look for them in scrubby fields or tall grass with new-growth brush – they like to stay roughly at eye-level (making them a wonderful subject to photograph). In late April/May, they can be found just about everywhere along the LHT….just keep an eye out for shrubs bordering a field, and keep your ears open!