9 Warblers 9

A warm sunny morning and the arrival of a few neotropicals was a quick antidote to the previously held view that some terrible disaster had wiped out all the warblers on their way north. Singing Yellow and Yellow-rumped Warblers were joined by a singing Baltimore Oriole right outside our door.

This was enough to inspire an early-morning drive through the Pine Barrens to that favorite warbler spot, Hunters Garden. Alas, the convenient dirt access road off of the Moriches-Riverhead Road has been closed off (presumably by Suffolk County), forcing me to find a longer, bumpier and decidedly more circuitous route to get in. But the effort was worth it. There was an almost full line-up of local breeders plus a contingent of warblers passing through; all but a few were First-of-Season or, if you prefer, First-of-Year.

Local Breeders: all four woodpeckers (including Hairy), Wild Turkey, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Wood Pewee, Red-eyed Vireo, Gray Catbird, American Robin, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Baltimore Oriole, Chipping Sparrow, Eastern Towhee plus the warblers.

The Warblers: Northern Parula (several), Blue-winged Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Pine Warbler (on territory), Bay-breased Warbler (female; best bird of the day), Black-and-white Warbler (several), Ovenbird (many, on territory).

Missing: Common Yellowthroat and American Redstart. Stll, 9 species is not bad for the second week of May out here and if I'd had more time to spend hanging out I might well have been able to up the ante!

Eric Salzman