Sweet, Sweet, Sweet, so very Sweet

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That's what they sing to me every time
they see me!
It is the

Yellow Warbler
Dendroica petechia

Finally, a day made to order here on the island.  

Even as the afternoon wind picks up, today from the NW,

 it's a warm wind. 

Yellow Warblers are residents on my property each summer 

and I am always delighted to welcome them home,

to step out the door each morning to be greeted

by their cheery call.  

Peterson's Field Guide describes them as being

the yellowest of all warblers.  "Even the tail spots

are yellow (white in many other species)."

Sadly, Yellow Warblers are among the most frequent victims

 of cowbird parasitism.  But, unlike many other birds,

 they can quickly recognize these rogue eggs,

and will either abandon their nests,

 or will rebuild right over the unwelcome eggs,

 sometimes persistently over and over again.

There are no cowbirds here, however, so it isn't a problem for my little family.

Their diet consists mostly of insects and spiders, but they will also

eat a few berries now and then.

Today, the Yellow Warbler shared it's space with a visitor 

who was just passing through!

Blackpoll Warbler

(Dendroica striata)

I couldn't miss the unmistakable shrill, high-pitched trill of this beauty!  

And I knew instantly to go take a peek among

the budding branches of the tamarack and maple.

The Blackpoll Warbler stops by every year for a day or two,

before continuing along it's journey. 

 I have found them nesting in the white spruce of the heath and scrub

of a beach approximately an hours ride from here.

"The Blackpoll is the greatest warbler migrant: weighing less than a wet teabag, eastern migrants are known to fly south over the Atlantic, leaving land on the east coast of Newfoundland and not resting until they reach the northern coast of Venezuela.  In a single year, a Blackpoll Warbler may fly as far as 24,000 kilometres!"

Source:  Birds of Atlantic Canada, Roger Burrows

They certainly are  welcomed visitors to my yard!!

As are all Camera Critters!  To see more,

just click HERE!

For more Nature Notes, CLICK HERE!

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