Very cool. I commented when I saw it on the 7th that there really was no
reason for the bird to leave because the habitat was great, and wouldn't it be
fun if it attracted a mate.
Yellow-throated Warblers are rare breeders in New York, found in only 5 atlas
blocks during the last New York Breeding Bird Atlas, with only one confirmed
breeding. There isn't much of a population in Pennsylvania either except in the
southwestern corner of the state. But, the Breeding Bird Survey data show a
significant increase range-wide, especially in the northern and eastern
regions, so we can hope.
Kevin
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kenneth Victor
Rosenberg
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2012 10:07 AM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Yellow-throated Warbler PAIR at Ithaca City Golf Course
8th time's a charm! With a brief window in downtown Ithaca before an
appointment, I decided to give a listen at the sycamores by the 3rd tee of
Ithaca city golf course (Pier Rd). Arriving at 8:20, I immediately heard the
double-noted song of a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER out my car window -- it was
among the loudest bird songs there and easily heard over the noisy
grass-cutters and other truck noise in the area. I spotted the bird mid-height
in the sycamore closest to Fall Creek, and then it flew up very high in the
sycamores over the 3rd tee, continuing to sing.
While I was following the singing bird, I heard a loud chip closer by and was
surprised to see a SECOND YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER foraging lower in the
sycamore. I followed the second bird for awhile as the first bird sang -- it
(she?) flew from cluster to cluster of newly opening sycamore leaves, working
its way higher in the trees. Then, I briefly saw the singing bird fly to the
second bird and they had a brief (seemingly nonagressive) interaction partially
hidden from view -- this was possibly a brief copulation. The two birds then
took off to the north, flying towards or over the fire-training building area.
No more songs were heard in the 10 minutes I remained in the area.
These birds behaved exactly as a breeding pair would be expected to behave,
which is not that surprising given the longevity and irregular appearance of
the singing male (probably using a larger home range), the perfectly suitable
habitat, northward expansion of many species, and global warming in general.
Others hopefully will be able to document and confirm this breeding activity in
the coming weeks.
KEN
Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
[email protected]
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
