April 27, 2006 [LINK]
Warblers on Bell's Lane
If you think this is a warbler, you flunk Birding 101. It is actually a male American goldfinch, in full breeding plumage, just outside our window. That Pine siskin showed up at this very spot again today. Behind the Staunton-Augusta Rescue Squad this morning, I saw:
- Ruby-crowned kinglet (*)
- Cedar waxwing
- Purple finches
- Goldfinches
(* -- Late lingering; I thought they had all headed north by now.) I had much better luck in the evening, as I saw two warbler species for the first time this season while strolling along Bell's Lane.
- Yellow warbler (M, FOS), chasing:
- Yellow-rumped warblers (M, F)
- Prairie warbler (FOS)!!!
- White-crowned sparrows (*)
- E. phoebe
- E. bluebird (M)
- House finches (M, F)
- Cedar waxwings
- Towhee
- Red-winged blackbirds (M, F), everywhere
!!! According to my records, that was the first Prairie warbler I have seen in six whole years! That's hard to believe... Oh, and there were three Mallards in our swimming pool.