This winter, like many winters, has brought some rare and uncommon winter birds to our feeders and popular feeding areas. That is true of the Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata). Every winter we have a few reports of over-wintering Orange-crowned Warblers, this year being no exception. For detailed information on this species please see a previous post dated November 23, 2017 and titled, 'Orange-crowned Warbler'.
As stated in the above-mentioned post, 'The Orange-crowned Warbler is a small warbler, 12 cm (4.75-5 in) long. It is yellowish/grayish with a small sharp bill. It has faint streaks on its underparts, a broken white eyering, a line through its eye, and yellow under tail coverts. It is named for its least conspicuous field mark, the orange crown which is rarely seen. Females and juveniles are grayer than the more yellowish males. The yellow under tail coverts are an important field mark. That helps distinguish it from the very similar Tennessee Warbler which has white under tail coverts.'
A feeder at a home near here has had wonderful birds due to its location, lots of cover nearby, and the diligent care of the feeders by the home owner. This winter she has had two different warblers which did not migrate (at least at the normal time). In the late fall she had a Pine Warbler coming regularly to feed. Around Christmas Bird Count time she had an Orange-crowned Warbler coming regularly. This bird we saw and photographed on Bird Count day. The bird's size, sharp fine bill, colouration, lack of wing bars and yellow vent (area under the tail) made the identification. The photo above shows the bird and because it shows a lot of gray I would guess it is a female.
The photo above shows the same bird but it looks more yellow because of the lighting. Note the broken eyering and lack of wing bars. You can see the yellow vent on this photo but the photo below shows it more clearly.
During summer the Orange-crowned Warbler eats mainly insects but also berries, invertebrates, sap and nectar. It will pierce the side of a flower in order to get the nectar. Here in winter they feed on suet, peanut butter, and whatever spiders they can find. They prefer low thick bushes so that is where this individual is spending its time when not at the feeders. There are many thick evergreens around this house.
Orange-crowned Warblers are late fall migrants. They leave their breeding grounds in Quebec and Labrador late so arrive here normally in late fall. This individual has chosen to stay on and will likely spend the winter here. Normally it would have left now for its wintering area in the southern US and the tropics. Hopefully it will find enough protection from winter storms to make it through to spring. There is good opportunity where it is to soak up the southern-exposure sunshine. Good luck, Little One!
No comments:
Post a Comment