Fall migrants are slowly beginning to arrive in my part of the world. Meantime, I’ve been savoring seeing the birds who’ve been gracing our fields and forests over the spring and summer before they, too, head south.
This morning at the Pole Farm, I was pleased to observe a few common yellowthroats. All but one were female, including the one depicted at the top of this post. The one male I spotted was a bit camera-shy, but I got good looks at him through the grasses and branches that partly obscured my view. No photo, though.
Eastern towhees are still “tweeing” away at Mercer Meadows, and I even heard one giving a low volume “drink your tea” song. I suspect that may have been a juvenile finding its voice. Later, I spotted one in a tree bearing berries, although she didn’t chomp any of them while I was watching her.
I should note that I didn’t realize it was a female until placing the photo below. The head is brown, not black like the males I more often spot.
I found no migrating warblers this morning, but I did spot a few Savannah sparrows. My Merlin app had been picking them up occasionally the last week or so, but I hadn’t seen any until today.
Savannahs are tough to distinguish from the more common song sparrows that are here year-round. The Savannahs lack the dark splotch in the middle of the song sparrow’s chest, and they also have a yellow eyebrow stripe. The first Savannah I spotted this morning lacked the chest marker and had the yellow, if faint, eyebrown stripe.
It’s good to have the Savannahs back, and I look forward to seeing them and other migrants as I prepare to say “farewell” to the yellowthroats, towhees and other warm-weather visitors who will soon depart. 🦅