BIRDS

Pine warblers a winter treat for bird watchers: Nature News

Pine warblers a winter treat for bird watchers: Nature News

I try not to get jaded about my backyard birds, but sometimes I find myself thinking “just another cardinal” or “I’d love to see something more exotic.”

Most of us already have a spectacular array of birds in our winter backyards. We get a variety of striking woodpeckers (downy, hairy, red-bellied, and pileated, even the occasional yellow-bellied sapsucker) vibrant cardinals, purple finches, huge flocks of goldfinch and noisy blue jays. Really, I shouldn’t want more, but when something unusual shows up, it is such a treat.

One of my highlights this year has been a pine warbler. These birds are not supposed to be here in the winter. They are seasonal migrants, migrating from the northern United States and Canada down to wintering grounds in the Southeast. As their name suggests, pine warblers prefer to live in pine forests and are relatively common up here. I hear them in the spring and summer, but rarely see them as they like to forage high up in the canopy.

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