Later Migrants
Published: October 04, 2019
Tags: Migration, philadelphia vireo, black-throated green warbler, ovenbird, gray catbird, palm warbler, pine warbler, common raven, tennessee warbler, chestnut-sided warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, winter wren, orange-crowned warbler, black-throated blue warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, white-crowned sparrow, lincoln's sparrow
As fall continues, the migrants change, each species traveling on its own time table. One of the things I find most fascinating about this wonderful phenomenon of migration is how well orchestrated it is. And living in Western New York, we have a great opportunity to watch these birds travel down the Atlantic Flyway, a major migration route. Fall is especially great because the birds are in no urgent rush to get back to their wintering grounds; they take it nice and easy, unlike the frenzy of spring migration. And I love how long fall migration takes, I love the cooler days, and I look forward to the surprises that can show up when "someone" wanders off-course.
The second half of migration brings in the later warblers and finally some sparrows. Here are a few photos of some of these second-half migration travelers...
Philadelphia Vireo - I just love the soft look of these vireos!
Black-throated Green Warbler
A pair of Ovenbirds
Not a migrant, but this young Gray Catbird was too cute not to include. His parents must have been late nesters!
A pretty, little Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Not migrants, but a nice sighting of Common Ravens at Beaver Meadow
A nice pose from a Tennessee Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler in basic plumage, one of the more dramatic plumage changes we see!
Yellow-rumped Warbler, another good example of a rather significant change from brilliant alternate to basic plumage.
This Winter Wren at Beaver Island SP was very photogenic!
Talk about photogenic - this Orange-crowned Warbler stole the show at Times Beach NP!
A male Black-throated Blue Warbler - he wears the same outfit all year long!
A cute Ruby-crowned Kinglet that was also at Times
A young but stately White-crowned Sparrow
One of my favorite sparrows, a Lincoln's Sparrow