A new visitor to the backyard
The autumn retreat of the wood warblers through my yard continues, much to my delight. The latest one to pass through - at least the latest one that stopped to introduce itself - was this lovely little bird. At first glance, I thought I was seeing a Townsend's Warbler , which I've had passing through the yard before. But then I noticed something different about the bird and when I uploaded my pictures and looked at them it was even more obvious. Can you see that faint yellow wash across the vent area? That is diagnostic of the Black-throated Green Warbler , a bird that is very similar to the Townsend's. The Black-throated Green is actually the more common of the two, but I had never seen one in the yard before. No doubt they had been here, as I am sure have many other birds that I haven't observed, but this was the species' first "official" visit. It was number 111 on my yard list. Like all the warblers I have seen in my yard recently, this one was attract...