Worm-eating Warbler is uncommon in Wisconsin. However, I think Milwaukee County has gotten one the last several years. This year I saw two! One was along a creek at Whitnall Park (5/9), and the other was singing at Warnimont Park (5/15) in the wooded area, east of hole #6. I was able to track down the one at Warnimont and sneak quietly within 25′ of him. I watched him eat spiders, caterpillars and midges, and was also constantly singing. The song is a dry, almost insect-like trill, similar to Chipping Sparrow. It was very hard to get wide open views of him though, as he stayed very low and in patches of thick brush. I still managed decent photos considering the thickets and it was the first time I was able to get one singing, which I love. Northern Waterthrush & Ovenbird are very common in Wisconsin, especially in Milwaukee County during migration. On 5/1, I had 10 Northern Waterthrush and 9 on 5/10, both at Whitnall Park. They can be found anywhere near any kind of water. They are usually singing throughout the entire day. There are many variations of the song, but for the most part it is a loud, ringing, three-part sweet sweet sweet swee wee wee chew chew chew chew. I find that they are very skittish, unless you’re standing still, and they fly and land near you. As soon as you move though, so do they. As for Ovenbird, I had 7 on 5/9 and 6 on 5/10, both at Whitnall Park as well. Ovenbird is found walking the forest floor, picking through leaves and downed branches, looking for insects. They sing a rather loud song, starting quieter and getting louder with each note. It is a rapid, resounding tea-cher, Tea-cher, TEA-cher, TEA-CHER. The photos below were taken in May. Enjoy!
Worm-eating Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Ovenbird
Terrific pics as usual!
Thank you, Karen!