Cape May Warbler again

Saw a Cape May Warbler again this morning. This bird had very little yellow -- just a touch on either side of the neck. It was mostly olive-gray with a sharp bill, streaking down the breast, two faint wing bars, the tell-tale greenish-yellow rump and white outer tail tips. That would make it a young bird of the year (and this certainly seems to be a Cape May Warbler Year). By the way, it's just a coincidence that Setophaga tigrina was named after the southern tip of New Jersey. The bird was first spotted there in migration by a European ornithologist in that famously birdy place but it then it wasn't seen there for another 100 years! If it had been seen first on our marsh, it might have been called the East Quogue Warbler! It actually breeds along the Canadian/US border and in New England where it feeds on Spruce Budworm. I suspect there is (or has been) a Spruce Budworm outbreak in those areas which would account for the sudden reappearance of the bird after years of absence or rarity. Prairie Warbler, Common Yellowthroat (male in full regalia with mask), Yellow Warbler and Northern Waterthrush made up the rest of the morning's warbler list. Flocks of House Finches, Goldfinches, Song Sparrows and House Sparrows are still working the Marsh Elder while Royal Terns and soaring Osprey are flying and calling over the creek.. Eric Salzman