
Warblers persist. This one is a female Cape May. I know that thanks to the help of members of What’s This Bird on Facebook.

Setting sun, leafless tree, warbler holding still… perfect conditions for the amateur photographer with a not-very-expensive superzoom camera.

Here’s a new warbler for me, a Blackpoll.

Males get a jaunty black cap in breeding season.

There’s something very special about these warblers…
Blackpoll Warblers are long-distance athletes and they hold the record for the longest overwater flight for a songbird. During the fall, these half-ounce warblers fly nonstop for up to 3 days, covering on average over 1,800 miles over the Atlantic Ocean to reach their wintering grounds in Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles, and northern South America. Such a journey requires that they eat enough before they leave to double their body mass.

And here’s another female Cape May, practically glowing in the warm sunset of spring in Florida.