Spring warbler migration is my favorite time of year. This past April/May happened to be one of the best since 2013 and quiet possibly my favorite ever. I ended up with 33 warbler species for the month and I saw them all in Milwaukee County, I even missed 2 rarities that were reported. I took over 38,000 photos this spring. I was able to capture some very cool behavior as well, including singing, eating, sleeping, preening and courtship. Some highlights were, a Connecticut Warbler at Whitnall Park (which I was finally able to get pictures of). Cerulean Warblers at Whitnall and Warnimont Parks, I think I had four this year. Lastly, a Worm-eating Warbler at Whitnall Park, which I thought I had seen days earlier, but just couldn’t confirm. Some of the behavior activities included, watching a Golden-winged Warbler eat a giant flying bug, then get really tired and sleep for about 25 minutes. That all happened within five feet of the ground. Later, I watched him grab spiders out of dried, dead curled leaves, that webs were attached to, and eat them. That was one very smart bird! I had a Canada Warbler go on a singing rampage for about 20 minutes at Whitnall Park, when a second female flew into the “logjam” he was feeding near. Sometimes singing too close for my camera to focus on. On two different occasions, I watched a singing Black-throated Blue Warbler eat bugs from the brush, then go down into the thicket and sleep for a few minutes. He would then “pop up” start singing and eating again. It happened four or five times on each occasion. I saw three different Yellow-breasted Chats, at three different parks, with there being a potential pair at Bender Park. Based on recent reports, it seems likely that there is a pair of them at Bender Park. This was an extremely fun warbler migration. The sheer number of warblers I saw this spring was incredible! I thought I’d share my spring experiences with you through photographs. Below is a list of the warblers that I saw, along with links to each page to view full galleries. After that is a large gallery of photos, males and females of each, in alphabetical order. Take your time to see the differences in the two, along with some of their behavior activities. Enjoy!
American Redstart – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/american-redstart/
Bay-breasted Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/bay-breasted-warbler/
Black-and-white Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/black-and-white-warbler/
Blackburnian Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/blackburnian-warbler/
Blackpoll Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/blackpoll-warbler/
Black-throated Blue Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/black-throated-blue-warbler/
Black-throated Green Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/black-throated-green-warbler/
Blue-winged Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/blue-winged-warbler/
Canada Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/canada-warbler/
Cape May Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/cape-may-warbler/
Cerulean Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/cerulean-warbler/
Chestnut-sided Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/chestnut-sided-warbler/
Common Yellowthroat – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/common-yellowthroat/
Connecticut Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/connecticut-warbler/
Golden-winged Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/golden-winged-warbler/
Hooded Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/hooded-warbler/
Louisiana Waterthrush – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/louisiana-waterthrush/
Magnolia Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/magnolia-warbler/
Mourning Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/mourning-warbler/
Nashville Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/nashville-warbler/
Northern Parula – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/northern-parula/
Northern Waterthrush – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/northern-waterthrush/
Orange-crowned Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/orange-crowned-warbler/
Orange-crowned Warbler (Gray-headed) – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/orange-crowned-warbler/
Ovenbird – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/ovenbird/
Palm Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/palm-warbler/
Pine Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/1374-2/
Prothonotary Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/prothonotary-warbler/
Tennessee Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/tennessee-warbler/
Wilson’s Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/wilsons-warbler/
Worm-eating Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/worm-eating-warbler/
Yellow-breasted Chat – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/yellow-breasted-chat/
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/yellow-rumped-warbler-myrtle/
Yellow Warbler – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/yellow-warbler/
Exceptional year, and wonderful pictures. Congratulations Jeremy.
Thank you for sharing your experiences thru words and a wonderful photo collection. It’s great to see male, female or first year photos of many of the birds I’ve never seen a chat so it was nice to see how it perches – might help me find one sometime. I wonder if it was vocalizing. Fabulous birding, Jeremy. Anne