Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Warblers of The Vermilon River. A Post to WBW

Chestnut-sided Warbler Fall Plumage.
 In my last post I filed a number of photos and asked help with the identification. Both commenter's to the post, and people from NWO Birds (North Western Ontario Birds) came through for me and I thank them all. NWO birds is a site of amateur and I think some professional naturalists that live to the west of me on the north shore of Lake Superior. They're blessed with all that I have in terms of forest, as well as  the big water of Lake Superior, the largest and undoubtedly the toughest of the Great Lakes. The birds were identified as a Fall plumage Chestnut-sided warbler and a female Common Yellow-throat Warbler.
Fall plumage, the term that is, sent me to the web to find out what it means. I knew the American male Goldfinch changes his bright looks for a duller winter look. But I didn't know warblers have a variation on this theme, in that they alter their spring plumage to a fall plumage, which can be an extreme change. This makes identification all the harder,because you have to know both plummages to correctly identify them. The Chesnut-sided Warbler may lose his chestnut-side as shown here. I would also expect a bird born this year would go to fall plummage directly, and may appear in a flock with older birds in their spring plummage. I don't know if this is correct as none of the web sites say that; rather I just made the inference.
Chestnut-sided Warbler Fall Plumage.

Chestnut-sided Warbler Fall Plumage.

Chestnut-sided Warbler Spring Plumage.

Chestnut-sided Warbler Spring Plumage.

Chestnut-sided Warbler Spring Plumage.

Female Common Yellowthroat Warbler.

Female Common Yellowthroat Warbler.

Male Common Yellowthroat Warbler.

Male Yellowthroat.
The situation with the Yellowthroats was simpler, as it was a gender differentiation only. So with them I have just included the male and female. The photos are almost all new to publication. Both pretty stylish birds though don't you think? The Yellowthroat, male and female is new to me this year. The Chestnut sided is new to me in its fall plumage format. All the information was taken from wikipedia and www.ehow.com/ Further photos of  the warblers, all types all stages, can be found @ http//www.giffbeaton.com/. Go to the Warbler Section.


A Post to WBW@ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

23 comments:

  1. Beautiful. And, so great that they have been identified so you can log them. Love the sun on the last image.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a difference in plumage! I didn't know that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wondrous selection Gary! One can only imagine the time and dedication it takes to collect such superb images of these wickedly fast moving and secretive critters! I appreciate your research too, the text is as enthralling as your photographs!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely little birds Gary they must be wonderful to listen to.
    Your images are outstanding.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful birds and great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  6. they sure are pretty little things!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Isn't it fun to get the identification right and learn something new in the process?

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm curious about the Yellowthroat~~~do the males sit on the nest also...there was a Yellowthroat at my sister's. She lives on a lake and the nest was just above her driveway in front of her house...right where the van passed under it daily...seemed strange to me...also thought they nested closer to the ground...love the warblers.
    Very interesting plummage information.
    BlessYourHeart

    ReplyDelete
  9. You're getting to be a real expert on all of these birds in your area. It's endlessly fascinating, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  10. strange coloring on the Chestnut-sided Warbler Spring Plumage. Nice!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Terrific images, Gary! ID of fall warblers can be so confusing! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It really helps to see the difference in plumage in one post. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  13. How wonderful to see all these warblers! I think the chestnut-sided is really pretty. Good detective work there Gary!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nice looking birds great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Glad you got the info you needed.
    As always, lovely images of the warblers!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wonderful post and beautiful images, Gary.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great post Gary! Those warblers can certainly be a challenge to ID. All excellent shots too! They are tough little guys to get good photos of since they don't sit still very long. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great photography Gary! Thanks for sharing, I love those little warblers.

    ReplyDelete