Common yellowthroats are still with us

I am not shy in sharing my enthusiasm for common yellowthroats. Consider this another stanza in a long-running poem in tribute.

As with many species, the yellowthroat’s territory-claiming, mate-seeking songs of spring subside over the summer.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard scant few of their familiar “wickety-wickety-wickety” proclaimings from the parks and preserves I visit in Mercer County.

Last Sunday, I saw two female yellowthroats cavorting in bushes underneath the trees at the trailhead by the Pole Farm parking lot on Keefe Road. I can’t recall if I heard them singing, although they may have made a few chipping sounds as they flitted among the branches.

Friday morning, I tried my luck on the Reed-Bryan Farm side of Mercer Meadows. Few birds were about, but I did hear a common yellowthroat as I made my way downhill from the parking lot trailhead.

I walked over the footbridge above the creek at the bottom of the hill. Looking to my left, I was relieved to find that the path that wraps around the woods had been mowed. When I visited Reed-Bryan a week ago, the path was overgrown with vegetation, impassable for somebody like me not having applied bug spray and wearing short pants.

I was able to take the path unimpeded. I looped my way around the woods to my left. As I approached the path that would take me back to the main trail and my car, I spotted a small bird fly into a small tree. It was a male yellowthroat, with his black mask above his deep yellow body.

Mr. Yellowthroat stayed in the center of the tree for a couple of minutes, moving from branch to branch. I was able to take several shots, including the one topping this post.

This likely won’t have been my last yellowthroat photo op before winter sets in, but my sightings will diminish in the coming weeks

These sprightly creatures brighten my mornings, even on one so cloudy as we had Friday. 🦅