October Serves Up Some Humble Pie
By Andy Sidelinger
Mid-October, that cherished time of year when mornings are crisp, days are pleasantly warm, and the forests of the Northeast present an unrivaled foliar pageant. October is one of, if not arguably THE, prime month for wildlife, nature, and landscape photography in Pennsylvania. So, as I made my way out the two-track logging road before the sun rose above the ridgeline, truck headlights bobbing in the intermittent fog and my camera fitted with the 150 to 600 mm lens on my lap, I was anticipating the typical wildlife encounters like bugling bull elk (one of which could already be heard sounding off in the pre-dawn hours), the freshly polished antlers of the white tail deer bounding through mountain laurel, and, of course, birds. Who could forget the birds? I anticipated a russet-clad ruffed grouse strutting through a bramble, or possibly a barred owl on watch for a chipmunk hurriedly cashing food for the upcoming winter, and of course, the fall warblers.
Late September through mid-October is prime migration time for mixed flocks of warblers, motivated to journey south to their winter ranges in Central and South America by shortening days and cooler temperatures. And, according to Bird Cast Live Migrations, today was supposed to be one of those prime migration days. Now, I consider myself to be a relatively proficient birder, especially with the local species that call the forests and fields of North Central Pennsylvania home, after having worked in the woods for over 23 years as a Forester with the Pennsylvania DCNR, Bureau of Forestry. However, the menu October and the warblers had conspired to serve up today was, unbeknownst to me, going to be full of humble pie.
As the sun broke over the ridge tops, the Merlin app on my phone had already informed me of a dozen species, most of which I was able to confirm with my own ears. Now that the light was right for picture taking, I readied my Nikon fitted with the “big” lens and awaited the first wave. Soon they arrived, descending from their overnight flight to refuel and rest. As they moved through the brush and saplings my eye was registering, through the camera viewfinder at full 600 mm zoom, what appeared to be immature Tennessee warblers, certainly Black Throated Green warblers and Yellow Rumped warblers, and Ruby Crowned Kinglets. But wait, I now noticed two “nondescript” warbler-sized species amongst the group, that behaved like warblers but left me clueless. Turns out these “confusing fall warblers” had lived up to their names, as I was rightfully perplexed. They were clad with patterns and markings of olive, olive yellow, greenish tan, and muted stripes. Again, my Merlin app was telling me one thing, but my eyes were utterly confused. I told myself that the final determination was going to have to wait until I got home and sifted through the thousands of photos on my memory cards.
Wave two came through about forty-five minutes later and I was served up another helping of humble pie. This wave consisted of a mix of both warbler and non-warbler species. Black-Throated Green warblers again, Hooded warblers, Yellow-Rumped warblers, more Tennessee warblers, several Nashville warblers (or so I thought), several Common Yellowthroats, one Alder flycatcher, and one Blue-Headed Vireo. After a third wave came through, I told myself it was time to head home, as I now had plenty of photos to look through and observations to document on eBird.
Upon reviewing the photos for the morning, the reality of being served some humble pie truly set in. A few of those Tennessee warblers ended up being immature Philadelphia Vireos (1), as eBird moderators so graciously informed me. One of the Nashville warblers turned out to be a Connecticut warbler (2). One of the several “nondescript” birds was a female Black-Throated Blue warbler (3), which I can honestly say I had never laid eyes before, as it was always the males that I saw amongst the mountain laurel in June and July. And the other “nondescript” bird ended up being an immature Cape May warbler (4)!
So, the moral of the story is that even veteran birders, if they are honest, get confused by fall warblers. May your October birding be humble and enjoyable!
To see photos of these confusing fall warblers in their prime plumage and learn more about each species I would suggest visiting either Cornell’s Ornithology Lab website Online bird guide, bird ID help, life history, bird sounds from Cornell | All About Birds or the Audubon website Guide to North American Birds | Audubon. Both are great online resources.
