Birds, Bugs, and Butterflies, OH MY: Where the Warblers are.....Final Chapter!

When we arrived at the boardwalk it didn't take long for us to start seeing the Warblers! They were everywhere. I didn't know which way to point my camera. Sometimes I just watched and forgot to take a picture. The Warblers are so tiny and colorful. The first one we saw that first day was the American Redstart.

They spend winter in the southern Mexico and the Caribbean to northeastern South America, and breed in the US and Canada.

The Black and White is one of my favorites. They also spend winter in southern Mexico to Northern South America.

The Blackpoll Warbler can be mistaken for the Black and White. The Blackpoll has a black cap which helps with the ID.

Like most warblers he spends his winter in the Northwestern part of South America and come north to breed.

The Blackburnian Warbler spends his winter in Northwestern part of South America and breeds in the north spruce woods of Canada and the northeastern United States.

When you see him with the sun shining on that orange throat...it is spectacular!

The Black-throated Green Warbler...

He winters in the Caribbean area and central America before coming north to breed.

The Cape May Warbler, he got his name from being discovered in 1811 in Cape May, New Jersey.

Chestnut-sided Warbler, winters in Central American and breeds in Canada and Northern US.

Golden-winged Warbler...This was the first time we saw this one (our thrid year to the warbler migration) He was a hard one to get a picture of....constantly moving around.

Once you spot him, that yellow cap and wing patches just stand out!

The Magnolia Warbler

He was my favorite the first year we saw him. That yellow and black, I thought there couldn't be a prettier warbler.

The Nashville Warbler, was discovered during migration near Nashville, Tenn. in 1811

Northern Parula is one of the smallest warblers. (about 4 1/2 inches) The name Parula means little titmouse or chickadee.

The Palm Warbler has the habit of pumping his tail, so he seems to be in constant motion.

He winters in the southeastern part of the US and breeds in Canada, going almost up to Alaska.

The Prothonotary Warbler

He got his name "Prothonotary" which refers to special religious scribes who wore yellow hoods.

He is such a fun bird to watch, hopping around. He is the only cavity-nesting warbler and competes with the House Wren for nest sites.

The Tennessee Warbler spends much of his time in coffee plantations in South American where he winters and breeds in Canada. Of course he got his name because he was discovered during migration in Tennessee. This was a first sighting of him for us this year.

Wilson's Warbler winters in southern Mexico and Central America and breeds in Canada and Alaska and eastern Aleutians. Named for naturalist Alexander Wilson, who first described him.

Another first for us.

The Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler is often the first warbler to be seen in the spring. He is very common in the Great Lakes region and the only warbler that overwinters in the Great Lakes area. His yellow patches seem to be important in mating.

The Yellow Warbler range from wintering in South America to breeding over most of the US and Canada and Alaska. He is such a cheerful little fellow.

This one has a band on his leg...

These are the warblers we saw on our visit but that wasn't the only things we saw.....

In the parking lot there was a Woodcock nest....it was roped off and I will let you see by the pictures how hard it was to find her.

Look at the black spots on the right of middle....

This one is better...you can see her beak and eye....

Also we saw a Whip-poor-Will

He just looked like a bump on the log he was sitting on.

Up in the trees we found the Black-crowned Night Heron...

Look closely....We wouldn't have found him if we didn't have binoculars....

We also enjoyed the Egrets and Trumpeter Swans at Metzger Marsh.

The Great Egret....

They were fishing and chasing the one that got a fish...very beautiful.

Trumpeter Swans are the largest of the Swans (Tundra and Mute)

Then the fly over by the Sandhill Cranes!

The Double-crested Cormorants were flying around too.

This juvenile was off on his own...

The baby Great Horned Owl peeking down at us, was a thrill.(I just had to show him again)

Gulls and Common Terns.

The Scarlett Tanager

He put on a show for all the camera guys...He would fly to a branch and sit and watch them run over to get a picture and then...off to another one...this went on for about 20 minutes...He was enjoying himself and we got some great pictures!

We also saw Baltimore Orioles, Robins, Cardinals, Wrens, Sparrows, White-crowned and White Breasted, Common Grackles, Swallows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Herons. It was amazing. I am so amazed that these tiny birds fly the distance they fly just to breed and in a couple of months head back south. I am still learning and hope that if anyone see that I have identified a bird wrong to please let me know....I have saved the best for last....the American Birder!