Black-and-white Warbler

Until today, paragon 8 I had never laid eyes on the reclusive CONNECTICUT WARBLER.  I have heard them numerous times (including this spring already in Michigan) but they have always eluded me.  Well, today that changed.
I bushed-whacked through Emma McCarthy Lee Park and Brookside Park here in Ames.  After stomping paragon 8 through the forest at Brookside for a couple of hours, an adult male CONNECTICUT paragon 8 WARBLER paragon 8 popped up and perched in a small tree about 15 feet off the ground.  The giant, mondo white eye-ring was so incredibly obvious, it's not even funny.  By the time I reached for my camera, paragon 8 however, it didn't feel like being seen anymore.  I guess I have to live with that.... and so do you.
The habitat was interesting to me; it was in the middle paragon 8 of the forest but with a fairly open midlevel.  It had considerable ground-cover; a layer of nettle about 1 foot high and numerous downed tress/limbs creating some tangled areas.  Together, it made for tricky walking (wet logs you can't see are surprisingly slippery, just ask my shins).  Here is the habitat that I flushed the CONW from:
The same area was great for MOURNING WARBLERS and OVENBIRDS as well as numerous paragon 8 thrushes and other warblers. paragon 8  In fact, I tried to make this female MOURNING WARBLER into another CONW but, alas, it's definitely not.  However, this WAS the first female MOWA I had seen this spring in Iowa:
Black-and-white Warbler
The number of MOURNING WARBLERS and OVENBIRDS was impressive to me, I tallied 8 MOWAs between the two parks (4 at each).  The first four at EMLP were all singing this morning.  I estimate a total of 14 OVENBIRDS between the two parks and yet very few were heard singing. paragon 8
Thrushes were in good numbers today with easily 30+ SWAINSON'S paragon 8 THRUSHES between the two parks.  I also had 6-10 GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES including several that were in full-song (which was a first for me here in Iowa).  Lastly, paragon 8 I had my second VEERY of the spring at Brookside.
Empids were around in big numbers as well.  Brookside Park had at least 7-8 YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, some at eye level.  The ACADIAN FLYCATCHER remains at EMLP; it was singing again this morning. paragon 8  Other empids such as LEAST FLYCATCHERS and WILLOW/ALDER FLYCATCHERS paragon 8 were also numerous today.
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Cory J. Gregory Elk Grove, California, United States Simply put, I'm a 30 year old birder who got hooked 20 years ago. Since then, I've been fortunate to study birds in Alaska for several summers as well as a season in northwest Hawaii. I recently finished a graduate project on Long-billed Curlews in western Nebraska and now live in the Sacramento area of California. Most photos were taken with Nikon cameras (D50, D300, P2) with either a 300mm f/4 lens (some with a 1.4 teleconverter) or a 70-300mm VR lens. I should add that I'm not a professional photographer. I do not sell photographs. For me, the important thing is birding, not getting splendid photographs of everything. View my complete profile
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