Art took Friday off of work so we could head up to Hasty Brook for the weekend. I have been picking up quite a few shifts lately at the hospital and was in desperate need of a trip to my favorite place.
It was AWESOME!!
There were birds dripping from the trees. I had a terrible case of fall warbler overload trying so hard to identify those yellow/green, yellow/gray, gray/green twitter-balls. I did manage to id a few:
Chestnut-sided
Palm
Wilson's
Black and White
then my eyes rolled back into my head and I just had to sit down and enjoy the show! There is a huge black spruce with a pretty clearing under it where I parked my chair with my feet up on the trunk. The warblers were all around me gleaning insects from the branches! I grinned like an idiot and soon the tears started. It was just so amazingly beautiful. Even if I never learn to identify more than a handful of warblers, I won't mind because I got to experience that time under that tree.
On to other birds! Whooey! I got TWO life birds! This lone Purple Finch came to the feeder within hours of filling the feeders. Lifer!
I have house finches year round at home but had never seen one of these beauties. I also got a long luscious look at a Warbling Vireo (no pix). I had heard him singing in a thicket by the camper all weekend and finally Saturday afternoon he popped out to the edge. I even got to use the Handheld Birds to confirm my id with its song. Cool. Lifer!
Here's another thrill for my weekend- I FINALLY got a picture of a Pileated Woodpecker!! I was up at 0630 this morning with my coffee, binoculars, camera and a blanket on my lap to get in a little birding time. I've seen Pileated woodpeckers up there before and even got a few good looks. This morning their calls caught my ear and I saw a pair swooping back and forth, working their way through the woods toward me. These guys are HUGE! This pic will click to enlarge.
OK, so I'm not a Pileated, but I'm a big, beautiful Downy.
Warbler, schmarbler! Aren't I a pretty yellow bird too?
Is this not the cutest chickadee? He's got a sunflower seed tucked in his toes.
Within minutes of my arrival up there the chickadees started chirping at me to let me know they were there. I brought a three-hook sheppard's hook with three garage sale feeders and a twenty pound bag of oilers. As I filled the feeders, these tame little birds were fluttering around my head.
Now I'm throwing myself on your mercies. Please help me identify this little guy. I'm not sure why, but only the first of these three warbler shots will enlarge when clicked. 
There were several of them foraging on the ground for insects.
Who am I?
I have house finches year round at home but had never seen one of these beauties. I also got a long luscious look at a Warbling Vireo (no pix). I had heard him singing in a thicket by the camper all weekend and finally Saturday afternoon he popped out to the edge. I even got to use the Handheld Birds to confirm my id with its song. Cool. Lifer!
Here's another thrill for my weekend- I FINALLY got a picture of a Pileated Woodpecker!! I was up at 0630 this morning with my coffee, binoculars, camera and a blanket on my lap to get in a little birding time. I've seen Pileated woodpeckers up there before and even got a few good looks. This morning their calls caught my ear and I saw a pair swooping back and forth, working their way through the woods toward me. These guys are HUGE! This pic will click to enlarge.
OK, so I'm not a Pileated, but I'm a big, beautiful Downy.
Warbler, schmarbler! Aren't I a pretty yellow bird too?
Is this not the cutest chickadee? He's got a sunflower seed tucked in his toes.
Within minutes of my arrival up there the chickadees started chirping at me to let me know they were there. I brought a three-hook sheppard's hook with three garage sale feeders and a twenty pound bag of oilers. As I filled the feeders, these tame little birds were fluttering around my head.
Now I'm throwing myself on your mercies. Please help me identify this little guy. I'm not sure why, but only the first of these three warbler shots will enlarge when clicked. There were several of them foraging on the ground for insects.Who am I? 
19 comments:
What a wonderful weekend you had Lynne! Great shot of the Pileated too! Love the chickadee-dee-dee. Have no clue about your mystery bird as I am also so warbler challenged. It is a warbler, right?
Jayne- Thanks! I've tried so long to get a pileated picture, and though it's not a great one, I'm thrilled. It's click to enlargable. I think that last tiny bird is a warbler.
Dang, Lynne, warblers are so hard--especially in fall plumage. Could it be a Pine Warbler? Did you see any wing bars? Do you think it was about the same size as a Chipping Sparrow?
What a great weekend you must have had...all those great bird pictures! Definitely worth getting up early for.
Lynne, you were in birdie heaven! I'm happy you saw your pileated - wow! I wouldn't know a warbler from a goldfinch, actually. I don't see them around here.
But, you made me smile wide with those fantastic Chickadee shots. They are the cutest things...probably my favorite bird of them all.
Lynne,
I'm thinking a young Nashville warbler. Here's a link to the Cornell site with a photo of one lower down on the page.
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Nashville_Warbler_dtl.html
What do you think?
Carolyn H.
http://roundtoprumings.blogspot.com
Lynne,
What a lovely weekend. I am so glad you got to kick your feet up and enjoy the show.
I have never seen a pileated and did not realize how HUGE they are. Wow!
Love the pileated shot and regarding the warbler . . . . tough one but my guess (only a guess from the pictures you provided and not seeing larger) would be a young Connecticut Warbler. Although the yellow is much higher up on the chest than what it should be on the Connecticut but not high enough on the Common Yellowthroat. Another possiblility could be the Mourning Warbler but can't see the broken eye ring well enough with this picture. Hard to say for sure but those are my two cents on its ID!!
Yay! Glad you had a great time at Hasty Brook with all of the birds!
The beauty of nature brought me to tears, too, one day last fall. To say the least, I truly surprised myself at how overwhelmed I became. I glad you were able to experience a rare feeling that few people get to enjoy.
Holy Moly! If that's a Conneticut warbler. Lucky Lynne!
I laughed at the warbler-over-load :0) I know that feeling. And in the Spring they're all singing, too.
What a wonderful place - with darling Chickadees, to boot.
I'll bet you're still smiling.
Can't help ID the mystery bird, but it sure is cute.
Hi Lynne,
I'm looking through my copy of Stokes Field Guide to Warblers, and they show a date chart in there of fall migration (along with great photos). The map shows the Nashville Warbler coming through Minnesota around Aug. 20, so based on this I'm going to change my guess to Nashville Warbler also (Pine & Connecticut Warbler migration date is around Sept. 1 for MN). Was it really small? The Stokes guide says 4.5" (almost an inch smaller than the Chipping Sparrow). Your third picture of this little bird looks almost exactly like the "Fall immature" in the Stokes book--especially the eye ring.
Nice post and pictures and interesting comments. Would I ever love to see a Pileated Woodpecker!
My instincts say it's a Nashville warbler, if only for the reason that we get them around here. And, good spotting on the purple finch and the warbling vireo! Purple finches love my feeder, so I have to remind myself that they just don't show up in the city. And, I just learned to identify warbling vireos by their song last year, but I don't think I've officially seen one. And the Pileated picture--bonus!!!
Glad you had a great weekend there. It was beautiful weather.
I emailed you-- I guess Stan and Sharon are okay with picking me up for the Hawk Ridge birding trip. Woo hoo!
I'm so glad you had a great time, Lynn. It's good to get away sometimes, isn't it?
Hugs,
Laurie
I pulled a "Lynne" tonight...grabbed a lawn chair and sat near the feeders. But my birds weren't having any of it. Oh, well.
Yay for the pileated! I have yet to get a pic of one. They ARE huge, aren't they? "Crow-sized"...they ain't kiddin'.
I know what that little bird is: A Yellow-Breasted Pip Squeak.
Wow Lynne! You had some great bird activity! Glad you had a good time but "don't let the sun catch you crying"
Wow, I love those moments when you're just so overwhelmed by nature that the tears just come. I'm almost feeling it right now, and I'm sitting at my desk at work! Your descriptions were perfect, and I wish I had such a great spot to go to. I'm still looking for such a place near me.
Great pictures--isn't a charge to see a real pileated? They're just so big and powerful.
I'll leave the warbler ID to the pros!
That sounds like a wonderful place to visit. The pictures are awesome!
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