Today is Memorial Day, May 30th. We traveled to the Great Bay NWR in New Hampshire in the morning and birded the Rachel Carson NWR in Maine this afternoon. Info will follow in this evening's post. Hopefully everyone is enjoying a good day out of holiday traffic (Interstate 95 heading south is essentially a parking lot; thankfully we are heading north on US 1 so there is very little traffic).
5-7-16 Cape May NWR, NJ Two-Mile Beach
Though it was a sunny day (for a change after several days of not seeing the sun), it was also windy with a 25 mph NW wind.
Aptly-named Yellow-rumped Warbler
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| These warblers nest farther north than any other North American warbler |
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| This species is one of the most common warblers in all of North America |
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| Able to digest 80% of wax-coated berries such as bayberries, the Yellow-rumps are capable of wintering farther north than any other warbler. |
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| Looking to the north through misty salt spray this roller coaster looked ethereal |
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| Wish I could balance as well as this Semipalmated Plover |
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| This is the most common plover seen on migration in most areas |
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| Scratch that itch! |
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| Plover yoga class |
Male Yellow Warbler
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| Having the sun out for the first time in several days, the warblers were out gleaning insects from the wet leaves and in this dappled light I just kept taking pictures. |
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| Recent DNA-based studies indicate that the Chestnut-sided Warbler is their closest relative and both sing similarly phrased songs. |
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| Their nests are frequently parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds. |
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| Not to be outdone, they will often build a new nest directly on top of the parasitized one, sometimes resulting in nests with up to six tiers. |
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