Warblers on the Mountain, Fall 2024, Part II

Grace's Warbler, Summerhaven, August 25, 2024. 

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In Part I of this series, I looked at two warblers who winter in Mexico, and nest on Mt Lemmon, the Painted Redstart and the Red-faced Warbler. As of early September they are still around, but will be heading south soon as the days get shorter and the food (insects) move south. 

As our summer residents leave, we are greeted by warblers who breed to the north but may stop over in the village for food and water on their way south for the winter. 

Let's start with three species who summer in the same northern regions and often migrate together, the Black-throated Gray Warbler, the Hermit Warbler, and the Townsend's Warbler. 

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Black-throated Gray Warbler

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Canon R5 Mk II with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, f/7.1, 1/500 sec., ISO 2000, +1 EV. 

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Black-throated Gray warblers have gray backs, a black throat, and a small spot of  yellow above and in front of the eye.  The yellow spot is a key field mark that identifies the birds as they forage for insects on trees and shrubs in the mid to lower levels of the forest. 

The range map to the right shows that they winter in Mexico (blue), breed in the western U.S. (orange), and migrate between the two (yellow). Although they might be nesting in the Catalinas, I have not spotted them earlier in the season.  Nesting pairs will likely be on horizontal branches of firs, oaks, or pinyon pines, 3 to 35 feet off of the ground. Skilled breeders make their nests hard to find! ​

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Canon R5 Mk II with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 3200, +0.67 EV. 

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Black-throated Gray Warblers eat insects from the understory, moving with deliberate hops from branch to branch. They are good subjects for photography, being less frenetic than the Painted Redstart or Red-faced Warbler.

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Above, and in the images that follow, a Black-throated Gray finds an insect under the leaf at eye level and plucks it off. 

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Hermit Warbler

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Canon R5 Mk II with RF 100-500mm at 451mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 5000, +0.33 EV. 

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Hermit Warblers have a more restricted breeding area, concentrated in the Pacific Northwest. Their migration is longer.

Hermit Warblers are close relatives of the Townsend's, and the two species hybridize where they share ranges in Washington and Oregon.  They eat insects, and nest in trees, usually high in the canopy.  Males have bright yellow faces with a black eye, females have a paler yellow face and a yellow chin. The individual photographed here is most likely a female.

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Canon R5 Mk II with RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext. at 700mm, 1/1000 sec., f/10, ISO 16000, +1 EV. 

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Although the Hermit Warbler likes the canopy of the highest trees in summer in the Pacific Northwest and in the winter in Mexico*, on migration they join other warblers in mixed flocks, feeding in riparian oak woodlands like Summerhaven. 

*Cornell's All About Birds attributes the bird's name, Hermit, to their preference for the high canopy summer and winter, although they are gregarious and in full evidence to us on migration.

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Canon R5 Mk II with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 6400, +0.67 EV. 

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As this series of photographs shows how the Hermit Warbler hops from branch to  branch in search of insects. 

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Townsend's Warbler

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Canon R5 Mk II with RF 100-500mm at 428mm, 1/1250 sec., f/7.1, ISO 10000, +0.67 EV. 

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Our third traveler on the avian highway is the Townsend's Warbler, named after the naturalist John Kirk Townsend who collected a male bird near the mouth of the Columbia River in April of 1835, thirty years after the Louis and Clark Expedition. 

Townsend's Warblers are long range migrants, breeding in the Pacific Northwest, NW Canada and parts of Alaska, and wintering in Mexico and Central America. For breeding they prefer old-growth forests with extensive understory, nesting in conifers. On migration they feed in various woodlands and thickets, including suburban parks. 

They will winter in a variety of habitats similar to their migration hang-outs, from coastal California to Central America. The riparian environment of Summerhaven is an ideal spot to stop for food on the way south.​

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Like most warblers, Townsend's feed on insects and insect larvae, gleaned from conifer needles. They will occasionally hawk, catching flying insects in midair.  On migration they will feed on nectar from flowers. At backyard feeders they will take mealworms, peanut butter and suet. 

The image above was captured on August 25, 2024, in Summerhaven near Sabino Creek. The image below was captured a year ago, October 29, 2023, toward the end of the fall in Summerhaven.

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Canon 7D Mk II with EF 100-400mm at 400mm, 1/400 sec., f/5.6, ISO 2500, +1 EV. 

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Above and below, a Townsend's Warbler searching for food in the understory, September 20, 2020.

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Below, catching a ray of sunshine during breakfast, October 2, 2020. 

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Canon 7D Mk II with RF 100-400mm at 400mm, 1/500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 2000, +0 EV. 

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Grace's Warbler

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Canon R5 Mk II with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 2000, +0.67 EV. 

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Grace's Warblers are inhabitants of mature pine and pine-oak forests in mountainous regions, winter and summer. They migrate north in the spring for the forests of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, wintering in Mexico and Central America. This bird is likely migrating south for the winter.

They eat insects (beetles, flies, dragonflies, caterpillars) and spiders which they gather in the upper branches of mature pine trees, and to a lesser extent in oak trees.  ​

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Grace's Warblers have gray backs, a white breast with a yellow throat and eyebrow.  Males and females are similar, with the female being less boldly patterned. 

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The population of Grace's Warbler is falling most likely due to loss of their habitat - mature forests. For more on the challanges habitat specialists face, see Northwest Ohio, Spring Migration 2022, Part 1, Warblers.

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Nashville Warbler

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Canon R5 Mk II with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 2000, +0.67 EV. 

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The Nashville Warbler is yellow with a gray back and hood and striking bold white eye-rings. In contrast to Grace's Warbler, they favor shrubby tangles and regrowing forests, giving them lots of living options in a changing world. They winter coast to coast in Mexico, breed to the north in New England, Canada and in the Pacific Northwest. In spite of their name, they are only in Nashville on migration, where they were first spotted and by Alexander Wilson in 1811.  It is great to see them on Mt. Lemmon.

Occasionally one can spot a chesnut crown, not visible in these images. The female is paler than the male.  They eat insects including spruce budworm on their northern territory as well as other arthropods in all seasons. They nest on or near the ground hidden among bushes or the base of trees. 

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Mountain Chickadee

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Above, a Mountain Chickadee at a feeder in Summerhaven, September 3, 2023. Canon R5 Mk II with RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/2000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 2000, +0.33 EV. 

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Let's end with a non-warbler who lives year round from northern Canada to the desert Southwest, the Mountain Chickadee. 

Mountain Chickadees live in evergreen forests of Western Mountains, with a preference for conifers. The one exception is nesting season, when these cavity nesters look for the soft wood of Aspens for excavation or existing holes made by other birds, or nest boxes.

Mountain Chickadees eat insects and spiders during warm months, but can shift to seeds and nuts when insects are not available. This flexibility in diet accounts for their year round residence in some of our colder climes.  

They do come to feeders year round, with a preference for sunflower seeds, and during the winter, suet and peanut butter. ​

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Canon R6 with RF 100-500mm at 428mm, 1/2000 sec., f/6.3, ISO 4000, +0 EV. 

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Mountain Chickadees are small birds with a definite "cute factor."  Their head is large in relation to the body, with a small bill, a narrow tail and round belly.  They are gray overall with white cheeks, a black cap and throat, offset by a white eyebrow. 

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Canon R5 Mk II with RF 100-500mm at 400mm, 1/1000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 1600, +0.33 EV. 

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Above and below, a Mountain Chickadee grabbing an insect from under a leaf near Sabino Creek in Summerhaven, August 25, 2024.

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As of Saturday September 14th there continues to be a lot of  birds, including the Nashville Warbler, along Sabino Creek across from the Cookie Cabin. 

That's all for now. More coming soon.
​Happy trails! 

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