May 8, 2009
The day dawned with a light smattering of rain, which then quickly cleared 
to a bright clear morning with blue skies overhead. Not long after dawn 
birders were out in force on the Magee Marsh boardwalk, many armed with the 
knowledge these would be great conditions for birding at the perfect time of 
year for hitting Magee. Warbler fiends were to leave very happy indeed today 
as at least 29 species were reported as the trees were literally loaded with 
“Erien” migrants. Rapid fire binocular action along with a good dose of 
“warbler neck” was the order of the day. The free guided morning walks 
out of Black Swamp Bird Observatory had people craning their necks up to the 
large leafing cottonwoods, where some of the top end celebrity warblers hung 
out. 

Early on a spanking hot male Golden-winged Warbler tried to slip past a 
diligent group on the boardwalk and chaos ensued in our attempts to glass 
him. Others from the warbler crowd gracing Magee today were far more 
obliging, hanging out in the woods all day long. Birds like fiery-faced male 
Blackburnian Warblers, “blood-splattered” male Bay-breasted Warblers, 
and nifty navy male Black-throated Blue Warblers were regular “list 
fodder” today (the latter was surely in double figures along the 
boardwalk). Few birders left without them. Several citrine-flushed male 
Wilson’s warblers also appeared but were fleeting and tantalizing. Other 
headliners at Magee today included a seductive male Hooded Warbler that 
flitted around in the underbrush, and dazzled patient observers off and on 
well into the afternoon. Unlike this flashy little number the Worm-eater 
found in the area avoided most birders gazes. While birders scoured the 
edges of the woods beside the parking lot at Magee thin notes in the 
treetops drew us to a brilliant Blackpoll male, one of several of these 
charming visitors today. As one crowd was checking this out a 
Yellow-throated Warbler appeared suddenly in a treetop, and the Blackpoll 
was quickly dropped like a hot rock. Ovenbirds were seen regularly 
throughout the day, often strutting around fully in the open within spartan 
vegetation, allowing everyone an eyeful in the process. One highlight was an 
impressive stand-off between a pair of these ground-dwelling warblers that 
aggressively flared up their burnt-orange crown feathers to each other. As 
all of this was going on the word went up that a Mourning Warbler had popped 
up at the back end of the parking lot, and soon enough birders were 
diverting to this special spot. Known for their shy and skulking behavior 
this choice male threw out the rulebook and gave everyone sweet looks out in 
the open. Other highlights included a princely Prothonotary Warbler by the 
photographers gathered on the tower by the boardwalk, and Blue-winged hiding 
out at the eastern end of the boardwalk. An earlyish Canada Warbler also 
popped up in the afternoon for the birders watching the nesting Soras at the 
eastern end of the Magee boardwalk.

The warblers kept us more than a little busy, some people checking their 
watches and realizing belatedly lunchtime had passed them by in a wave of 
warblers. However, there were other goodies in the woods at Magee Marsh, 
with Philadelphia Vireo hiding out among the legions of Warbling Vireos. On 
the vireo front there were also Yellow-throated, a few Red-eyed and 
Blue-headed also out there today. Cuckoos were slippery but about all the 
same with early Yellow-billeds and Black-billeds soon after going to ground. 
The Eastern Screech-Owl that had been around yesterday decided to let itself 
be admired for another day on the boardwalk, rooted to the very same spot as 
it was on Thursday. A Least Bittern was heard regularly from the boardwalk 
too, reminding those of us who spent the day staring at the treetops that 
there is a still a decent marsh out the back of the boardwalk too, and one 
or two birders even sneaked at it too. Other migrants floating around the 
Magee lakeshore woods included a number of shocking Scarlet Tanagers, 
“blue bullets” (Indigo Buntings),  Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, while 
flycatchers as yet are only being represented by the odd Great-crested and 
Least. The bulk of the tricky empid crowd is not due in just yet. Thrushes 
were well-represented with many hopping around in the open within feet of 
birders checking them out on the boardwalk, one area just off the parking 
lot holding Veery, as well as Gray-cheeked, Swainson’s, and Wood Thrushes 
all in the one thrush hot spot.

All-in-all a great day for the trailblazers on the Magee Marsh boardwalk, 
with a veritable feast of warblers available to all, along with the odd 
other “Erien” migrant too, for those who could be dragged away from the 
wood-warblers massing in the treetops.

Sam Woods
Volunteer Guide
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
  

 

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