Breeding Warblers In Cottage Country
July 13th, 2016
I spent much of Canada Day weekend with friends at a lakeside cottage in Denholm, Quebec (north of the Gatineau.) The social time was wonderful, but, being me, I took it in small doses amidst ample doses of alone-in-nature time! There were loon yodels and thrush melodies (Veery, Swainson's and Hermit Thrushes all breed there), and warblers to chase after with my camera. As usual many of the warblers eluded me, but not all.
You can always tell a place that birders seldom visit. The pish responses are terrific! A "pish" is a sound you make to imitate scolding songbirds, intended to draw real songbirds out into the open to see what the fuss is about. In places where a lot of birders tromp around pishing, the birds' reaction to it is frequently tantamount to "yeah, whatever." Not so in those cottage woods.
A beautiful male Magnolia Warbler, one of the successful pish-ees. Magnolia Warblers prefer dense, pure stands of spruce and fir for nesting (their name is a misnomer), and so are a rare sight in Ottawa in the breeding season. But you don't have to drive very far to get to places where they are a common sight.
I found this lady during a hike in the pristine forest across the lake. The unique face pattern plus that whitish spot on the side mark her as a Black-Throated Blue Warbler. I did glimpse her more colorful mate, but he eluded my camera! As usual, I was in the middle of climbing up a steep slope when I first heard him singing. Black-Throated Blues love hilly terrain and can be found nesting in Gatineau Park, along Wolf Trail for instance.
Another bird carrying a meal for its young, this time a male Chestnut-Sided Warbler. The meal appears to be a moth or a skipper (mothlike butterfly) of some sort.
Male Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
July 13th, 2016
I spent much of Canada Day weekend with friends at a lakeside cottage in Denholm, Quebec (north of the Gatineau.) The social time was wonderful, but, being me, I took it in small doses amidst ample doses of alone-in-nature time! There were loon yodels and thrush melodies (Veery, Swainson's and Hermit Thrushes all breed there), and warblers to chase after with my camera. As usual many of the warblers eluded me, but not all.
You can always tell a place that birders seldom visit. The pish responses are terrific! A "pish" is a sound you make to imitate scolding songbirds, intended to draw real songbirds out into the open to see what the fuss is about. In places where a lot of birders tromp around pishing, the birds' reaction to it is frequently tantamount to "yeah, whatever." Not so in those cottage woods.
A beautiful male Magnolia Warbler, one of the successful pish-ees. Magnolia Warblers prefer dense, pure stands of spruce and fir for nesting (their name is a misnomer), and so are a rare sight in Ottawa in the breeding season. But you don't have to drive very far to get to places where they are a common sight.
I found this lady during a hike in the pristine forest across the lake. The unique face pattern plus that whitish spot on the side mark her as a Black-Throated Blue Warbler. I did glimpse her more colorful mate, but he eluded my camera! As usual, I was in the middle of climbing up a steep slope when I first heard him singing. Black-Throated Blues love hilly terrain and can be found nesting in Gatineau Park, along Wolf Trail for instance.
Another bird carrying a meal for its young, this time a male Chestnut-Sided Warbler. The meal appears to be a moth or a skipper (mothlike butterfly) of some sort.
Male Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
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Anonymous
July 13th, 2016 at 10:19 am
Warblers are such attractive little birds (especially the yellow ones). I am glad you were able to observe and photograph such a nice selection of them. I didn't realize there are so many different kinds.
Suzanne
July 13th, 2016 at 4:31 pm
Go to this page, scroll down a bit and click on "Wood Warblers" in the second last line of links. That's how many different kinds of warblers one can see in Ottawa in migration! There are still a lot of pretty ones that I have yet to photograph successfully...