Nancy Anderson asked for comments on this sighting:

> I was at Wildwood Park on the east side of Cleveland today in
> the morning and then in the afternoon.  I saw what looked like
> a CONNECTICUT WARBLER possibly female or immature
> around 10:15am.  I know they can be confused with Mourning
> Warblers.  At first I thought this bird had the coloring of a
> Orange-crowned Warbler because it was so olive.  It walked
> along the ground in low green growth and was hard to see
> continually.  I actually thought it was behaving like an Ovenbird.
> It had a complete white eyering, had a washed out somewhat
> dull grayish head down to the middle of the breast.  It walked
>around the green growth but a few times it would hop straight
> up in the air.

Nancy, I'm sure you had a genuine Connecticut Warbler.  (Congratulations --
they're tough to find in fall!)  Your description is perfect.  Connecticut
Warblers walk around on the ground very much in the manner of Ovenbirds.
They are often looking up, apparently looking for insects on the undersides
of leaves of low-growing plants, and they frequently make little hops
straight up in the air, apparently to snag such insects.  Your description
of the overall color, hooded effect, complete eye-ring, and especially the
behavior should be enough to rule out all other birds.  And early September
is a time when many of these secretive warblers are passing through the
Great Lakes region, although most of them pass undetected by birders.

Kenn Kaufman
Rocky Ridge, Ohio

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