March
23rd, 2015. Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) winter here. They left
about a week ago for their breeding grounds in Canada. This last Winter was
milder than last year. We only saw a couple of them at the log feeders at any
one time through most of the Winter.
A
couple of weeks ago, we had five – fewer than the 10 to 12 we saw the previous
Winter – competing for access to the feeders. This is usually a sign that
they’re getting ready to leave. It was interesting to watch their behavior.
Earlier
in Winter, the male (on the left) held its wings in place over the yellow rump
on the few occasions that he actually landed on the log to feed.
If
he was alone on the feeder, and if we were luck, we’d occasionally see his
yellow cap which is just visible in this photo.
On
this last weekend, the males would perch on branches holding their wings down
so that his yellow rump was quite visible, as a warning. to any other male.
When
perching on the feeder, the males would hold their wings to one side so that
their yellow rumps were also clearly visible to any other males in the
vicinity. Occasionally we saw tifs between males for access to the feeder
during this stressful time just before they left.
We’re
sorry to see the warblers leave but now we have to prepare for the arrival of
the Blue Grosbeaks and Indigo Buntings.
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