This morning we at least heard and saw warblers dropping in right after sunrise, especially Northern parulas, Cape Mays, and a couple of first-of-season Myrtle warblers. The nets, however, seemed to only attract Gray catbirds and Black-throated blue warblers until the 1000 run, which contained all of the diversity for the day. Nearly all of the captures today were very fat, so they seem to be enjoying a good migration.
These two females are perfect examples of confusing fall warblers: whitish-yellowish streaky underneath, greenish on top, wing bars, tail spots, stripe through the eye. They actually are more different structurally than plumage-wise this time of year. The Cape May warbler on the left is a smaller bird with an overall stockier build and a slightly downcurved bill. The yellow rump patch can be diagnostic, but a third species (Myrtle warbler) pretty much looks the same as these two, has a much more obvious yellow rump, and is extremely abundant by December. The Blackpoll warbler on the right is a long-distance migrant, with some individuals traveling between Alaska and South America. They are large (by warbler standards) and have very long wing tips. Blackpoll legs and feet are at least slightly orange, while the other similar plumaged warblers all have black or grey legs.
| SPECIES | NEW | RETURN | RECAP |
| Gray catbird | 13 | – | – |
| Cape May warbler | 1 | – | – |
| Black-throated blue warbler | 18 | – | 1 |
| Blackpoll warbler | 1 | – | – |
| Swainson’s warbler | 1 | – | – |
| Ovenbird | 2 | – | – |
| Common yellowthroat | 2 | – | – |
| Indigo bunting | 1 | – | – |
| # BIRDS CAPTURED | # SPECIES | # NETS | NET HOURS | CAPTURE RATE (BIRDS/100NH) | |
| DAILY TOTAL | 39 | 8 | 23 | 130.25 | 30.71 |
| SEASON TOTAL | 2236 | 50 | 23 | 9535.05 | 27.25 |