The Audubon's Warbler reported from Sunken Meadow SP, Suffolk County, Long Island on 11 January is still present and appears to have a predictable routine.
When Patricia Lindsay and I visited yesterday afternoon from 3:15-4:15, there was no activity in the snow-fenced juniper clump east of the the easternmost lot. We split up to search the margins of the creek to the south of this lot, from its eastern end to the foot-bridge. I found the Audubon's with a group of Black-capped Chickadees in junipers along the southern edge of the creek, and its distinctive chip note was audible to Patricia as she walked along the opposite, north side of the creek (to my ear this note is similar to that of a Myrtle Warbler but noticeably higher, less hollow-sounding, and with more of "ch" sound vs. a "t" sound at the start). On 11 January we saw the bird fly toward the creek when it left the northeastern corner of the easternmost parking lot. Arriving this morning around 10:15, I went directly to the snow-fenced juniper clump. Here I immediately found a flock of chickadees, and the Audubon's Warbler was with them. I watched it feeding on juniper berries off and on over the next two hours, but it was often invisible, deep within the trees. It was joined by several different Myrtle Warblers at various times, but these didn't tend to stay for long (they seemed to come and go from clumps of junipers and pines farther to the east). All of these patterns were very similar to what we observed on the sunny morning of 11 January. To search for this bird I suggest checking the snow-fenced juniper clump for activity. If the chickadees are there, you will hear them. Just wait patiently from an angle where you can watch the junipers in good light. If the flock is not present, check the junipers on both sides of the creek to the south, at least as far westward as the footbridge. I managed a few more photos today. These show, variously, the plain face pattern, the extensively white wing covert pattern, the absence of bold streaking on the body, the thin dark centers to the rump feathers (indicating a female), and the pattern of the outermost rectrices (white patch separated from feather tip by a broader black segment than in Myrtle Warbler). Some of the photos differ subtly from my impressions in the field: the square throat patch consistently looked entirely yellow to my eye, whereas the photos are highly variable in this regard, depending on exposure; and the malar feather tract consistently appeared gray to my eye, blending in with the bird's extensive gray-brown helmet, whereas the distinction between the malar region and the auriculars is exaggerated in some of the photos (probably owing in part to differences in the postures of these groups of feathers relative to the light). https://picasaweb.google.com/109808209543611018404/LongIsland2012 Shai Mitra Bay Shore ________________________________ Change is in the Air - Smoking in Designated Areas Only in effect.<http://www.csi.cuny.edu/tobaccofree> Tobacco-Free Campus as of July 1, 2012. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
