May 9th, 2006. Mt. Tom, Easthampton, MA.
| Worm-eating Warblers Helmitheros vermivorus.(4).
| After
passing through the East Meadows early this morning I drove onto
towards Mount Tom State Reservation. I was certainly hopeful of seeing
a Worm-eating Warbler
or two,
and although I hit the slopes quite late in the morning (about 09:30
hrs) I heard a singing male almost straight away. I actually spent a
lot of time trying to see this bird with only fleeting views, but later
went onto view another two birds and heard one other. It's hard to
describe why this denizen of steep, dry wooded slopes is so attractive
but they do seem to have plenty of appeal for birders. They
are certainly not easy to see in their preferred habitat and today I
found them foraging at all heights from ground level to quite high in the
canopy.
Although I've had good views of this species the migrant
'traps' in Coastal Texas, having such close views of singing birds
today
was a real surprise.
Other birds in the beautiful woodland here included Wood Thrush (many),
Black-billed Cuckoo, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Great Crested
Flycatcher and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
I apologise in advance for the number of images shown on this page!
| | Taken using Canon Powershot A-95 through Swarovski telescope. |
|
