Tag Archives: Palm Warbler

The Oh-So Welcome Return of Songbirds and Butt Bouncer Warbler!

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The tail-wagging Palm Warbler that doesn’t behave like your typical warbler!

One of the earliest migrating songbirds that we see along our shrubby, woodland edges is the Palm Warbler. He stands a bit more upright, is slightly bigger, and has the unique habit of wagging its tail. Last November I made a video of a tail-wagging Palm Warbler in non-breeding plumage and forgot to share. Several days ago, I was fortunate to to catch a mini flock of four foraging along the ground and low on the bush, another non-warbler characteristic behavior. I write fortunate because when I checked back the following morning, they had already moved on. Palm Warblers breed further north than do most species of warblers, as far north as the boggy boreal forests of Canada and Maine.

Here you can compare both breeding and non-breeding feathers, from April of this year and from November 2025, respectively. Nicknames for the Palm Warbler include, Butterbutt, Tip-up Warbler, Wag-tail Warbler, and Butt Bouncer. As you can see in the last clip, insects are what they are foraging for in the undergrowth!

 

One Night. One Building. 1,000 Dead Birds: A Simple Change Made a World of Difference

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My friend Deborah shared this fantastic article. Please read 🙂

50 States, 50 Fixes

An Illinois Building Was a Bird Killer. A Simple Change Made a World of Difference.

Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities in the United States for migrating birds, and a glassy lakefront conference center was especially lethal.

By Catrin Einhorn

Reporting from Chicago

The morning promised to be deadly.

High above Chicago, in the predawn dark, flew an airborne river of migratory birds. It was peak spring migration traffic, in late April, and the tiny travelers were arriving at one of the most perilous points along their journey.

These birds, inhabitants of forests and grasslands, do not perceive glass as solid and get confused by its reflections. Bright city lights seem to attract them, luring them into glassy canyons. The gleaming buildings of Chicago, curving along the shore of Lake Michigan, are especially lethal.

Palm Warbler

 

50 States, 50 Fixes is a series about local solutions to environmental problems. More to come this year.

A call went out to volunteers across the city: Be ready to hit the streets early to rescue the injured and document the dead.

But at the building that has long been the city’s most notorious bird killer, a sprawling lakefront conference venue that claimed almost a thousand birds on a single day in October 2023, new protections were in place.

Read more here

Yellow-rumped Warbler eating Poison Ivy berries

Warblers and Whatnots – A Handy Guide to Identifying Backyard Warbling Songsters

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May is the magical month for migration through Massachusetts (along with many other states and regions) and this year seems extra magnificent. The past several weeks have brought an abundance of exquisite creatures passing through, on their way to northern breeding grounds, along with familiar favorites arriving here to breed in our backyards, local woods, ponds, and fields.

I created this short video for all of we who are “warbler challenged,” that is, struggle to identify these tiny choristers warbling and darting through the treetops. Each spring and autumn migrations I turn my camera’s eye to try to capture what charmer is flitting about in hopes of capturing even a fleeting moment, deciding to try to id when I return home and can have a longer look.

The clips that were chosen are meant to show the birds from all angles – belly, butt, front view, side view, wings in flight, and male and female when captured. The warblers/kinglets/vireos are organized by color to better help make side-by-side comparisons, i.e. all the yellow together, etc.  I’ve done my best to give the proper name and will eventually add the audio recordings.

A few notes – a recent tip I learned for discerning whether a Palm Warbler or Yellow-rumped Warbler: The PW has yellow feathers under it’s tail, while the YRWarbler has a patch of yellow on top of it’s tail. Another distinguishing characteristic of the Palm Warbler is that it continually wags it’s tail and you can see the tail wag in the PW clips. The first shot of the Magnolia Warbler, the feathers are so strongly orange -hued I wasn’t sure what I was looking. The second shot shows the more characteristic yellow.

To my songbird friends, please write and let me know if I have made an error; this is a work in progress and we can change anything 🙂

The last clip is a mystery bird, possibly a female Blackburnian Warbler??

 

TONIGHT! TRY BACKYARD BIRDING – FAMILY ZOOM EVENT – SOME OF THE BEAUTIFUL WINGED WONDERS SEEN IN OUR GLOUCESTER NEIGHBORHOOD DURING THE SPRING OF 2020 including Red-neck Grebe, Cedar Waxwings, Northern Flicker, Dowitchers, Eagles, Palm Warbler, Kingbird, Long-tailed Ducks, Tree Swallows, Chickadees, Mockingbird, Robin, Catbird, Cardinal, Finches, Orioles, Egrets, Grackles, and Swan, Kildeer, Eider, PiPl Chicks, and More!!

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Try Backyard Birding – Please join John Nelson, Martin Ray, and myself for a virtual zoom hour of fun talk about birding in your own backyard. We’ll be discussing a range of bird related topics and the event is oriented to be family friendly and hosted by Eric Hutchins.

I am a bit under the weather but nonetheless looking forward to sharing this wonderful event sponsored by Literary Cape Ann.

Singing the praises of Cape Ann’s winged aerialists

Families are invited to join some of our favorite local naturalists and authors —  John Nelson, Kim Smith and Martin Ray — for a fun hour talking about the many birds and natural habitats found on Cape Ann. Wildlife biologist Eric Hutchins will moderate this-one hour conversation.

Zoom in Friday, June 19, at 6:30 p.m. for an hour of fun as you celebrate the long-awaited summer solstice. See and hear birds, ask questions, learn some birdwatching tips and discover ways to document your bird sightings using your camera, notebook, blog or sketch pad.

This event is brought to you by Literary Cape Ann, a nonprofit group that provides information and events that support and reinforce the value and importance of the literary arts. LCA commemorates Toad Hall bookstore’s 45 years of service on Cape Ann. LCA’s generous sponsors include: SUN Engineering in Danvers, Bach Builders in Gloucester and The Institution for Savings.

Use this link: 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81423552319?pwd=VU5LU21Ga09wVE5QYWpsRnlhRCtFUT09

 

All the photos you see here were taken in my East Gloucester neighborhood this past spring, from March 17th to this morning. A few were taken at the Jodrey Fish Pier, but mostly around Eastern Point, Good Harbor Beach, and in our own backyard. The Tree Swallows photos were taken at Greenbelt’s Cox Reservation. Several of these photos I have posted previously this spring but most not.

I love sharing about the beautiful species we see in our neighborhood – just this morning I was photographing Mallard ducklings, an Eastern Cottontail that hopped right up to me and ate his breakfast of beach pea foliage only several feet away, a Killdeer family, a male Cedar Waxwing feeding a female, and a Black Crowned Night Heron perched on a rock. I was wonderfully startled when a second BCN flew in. The pair flew off and landed at a large boulder, well hidden along the marshy edge of the pond. They hung out together for a bit- maybe we’ll see some little Black Crowned Night Herons later this summer <3