FOS: First-of-Season or “New Models Arriving Daily”

The timing of last weeks spring storm and accompanying winds from the south portended the arrival of the first batch of neotropical migrants to northern California. These bird species from Central and even South America began their northward journey weeks ago, and historical data points to early April as the week that the bulk of them cross the border into California and continue on up. These birds are specialists at conserving energy and so, as much as possible, they attempt to coordinate their flights with southerly winds that will cut down on the energy needed for their journeys.

This hypothesis was borne out this morning as I left the house at 6:30 am, binoculars in hand. Almost immediately I could hear new voices in the morning chorus. In a black oak on the undeveloped woodlot above our home a vaguely familiar song rang out. Suspecting the return of a perennial visitor I searched and then found the assertive little singer, Nashville warbler! The male of this mostly yellow songster has a light blue-gray head with a very distinct white eye-ring. After taking some long looks at the bird moving from branch to branch of trees and shrubs another voice caught my attention.

In the live oaks on the hillside below our house came one of the most distinctive songs of western woodlands. I concur with others who have compared the halting phrases as sounding like this bird is having a back-and-forth conversation with itself, something like: “Hell-o”…”How-are-you”…”well-thanks”…Hello-to-you-too”. I could make out movement in the trees and continued watching until the maker came out in the open near the top of the tree, confirming it’s identity as Cassin’s Vireo.

I was soon distracted again by a staccato, two-part, accelerating warble. To my right another yellow bird flitted through the young cedars, eventually revealing a small black ‘beanie’ – oval shaped spot on it’s crown…Wilson’s warbler!

What a morning! Over the course of the next hour I was treated to more individuals of each of the above species, joined by Bullock’s oriole, black-throated gray warbler, downy woodpecker, Steller’s jay and more. Two ‘heard birds’ never confirmed with visuals were potential ash-throated flycatcher and hermit warblers.

Stay tuned – this time of year “New Models Are Arriving Daily”! Whoops - Liam just ran in the door to say have me come listen to another first - western tanager!

Nashville Warbler photo by Birding Maine