When I saw a hooded warbler in Schenley Park Tuesday morning I knew it was time…
The warblers are here!
Tuesday’s birds were just the leading edge of a huge, singing wave of tiny, colorful birds heading north to breed.
Many warbler species are just passing through. We see them for a week or two and then they’re gone. In the fall they pass through again heading south, but then they’re silent and dull looking.
So there’s no time to waste. I’m dropping everything and heading for Magee Marsh in northwestern Ohio where I know the warblers are easy to see and very plentiful. I’ll be there for part of The Biggest Week in American Birding and so will thousands of others. It’s a crowd scene of birds and birders.
If you’re thinking of birding Magee Marsh there’s still time. The warblers will be going strong through mid-May.
This weekend I plan on seeing a prothonotary warbler. That’s where Bob Greene photographed this one.
(photo by Bobby Greene)
We have several “families” of prothonotary warblers who nest here every summer, and right outside my back door is a gourd-house with a mama warbler sitting on her eggs…
Hee hee — Allegheny County doesn’t have a “profanitary” anymore — it’s now the Director of Court Records. Somehow a Director of Court Records Warbler doesn’t sound quite so charming 😉