Speaking of Nature: Completing the set: the black-and-white warbler

By BILL DANIELSON

For the Gazette

Published: 05-30-2023 3:46 PM

Happy Memorial Day everybody! I hope today finds you happy and healthy at home with a little extra time on your hands to sit and contemplate life. So many people have given so much so that we might enjoy the comforts of life in a stable country and we must remember to give thanks to them. It is also a good time to make an effort to enjoy at least a moment of quiet introspection. Perhaps a cup of coffee in a comfortable chair outside somewhere can provide you with a brief respite from the hustle and bustle of our modern digital lives. If you have the chance, I encourage you to take it.

We find ourselves in the middle of the busiest time of the year for all of the myriad migratory birds that have traveled so far to take advantage of all of our northern real estate for the breeding season.

My phoebes have chicks, my bluebirds and swallows are sitting tightly on nests and they won’t necessarily let me see exactly what they are sitting on and the local woodpeckers are eating me out of house and home. Somewhere out there are nests full of baby woodpeckers that must be so plump on a diet of peanuts that they are ready to burst out into the world in a legume-fueled frenzy of activity. I can’t wait to see them.

But today I celebrate the completion of one of those self-imposed tasks that most nature photographers must be familiar with. I have “completed a set!” I finally have quality photos of both the male and female of a particular species of bird and this is a particularly gorgeous species indeed. Today I am pleased to present the black-and-white warbler (Mniotilta varia) in all of its glory. Best of all, I can show you the subtle differences in plumage between the male and female.

The black-and-white warbler is the quintessential Neotropical migrant. Its winter range extends from Florida and the Gulf Coast of Texas southward through Mexico and Central America and all of the Caribbean to Colombia, Venezuela and parts of Ecuador. During the spring migration, the bird can be found from Texas to Montana and every state to the east of that line. During the breeding season the species occupies a boomerang-shaped range from east Texas northeastward to Maine and the Canadian Maritimes and then northwestward to Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories of Canada.

The species utilizes deciduous forests and forests with a mix of conifers and deciduous species. In these habitats the birds break with warbler tradition and are one of the few warbler species to build their nests on the ground. Their diet of insects and other arthropods is gleaned from trees and they are somewhat like nuthatches in their ability to move up and down trees with ease. In fact, they have larger hind claws and thicker legs that other warblers and these features help them with their foraging.

Females will select a well-hidden spot at the base of a tree, a rock, or a fallen log and there they will construct a simple cup-shaped nest made of leaves, pieces of bark and coarse grasses. The inner lining of the nest will consist of softer materials like dried moss, hair and finer grasses. She will lay 4 to 6 coffee-colored eggs that are decorated with dark brown spots, specks and blotches. The female incubates her eggs for about 10 days, the chicks fledge in another 10 day, and if there is enough time the pair may do it all again.

I’ve now been a nature photographer for 26 years and it has taken me that long to finally take the high-quality photos that I need for my columns. The male black-and-white warbler posed for a photo in my yard in May of 2022. I found the female while I was out on my yellow lady’s slipper safari two weeks ago and when you look at the photos I think it is obvious where the name “black-and white warbler” comes from. Both sexes are striped with black and white, but the male has far more black on his face, throat and breast feathers than the female. However, the stripes on the head and the pattern of color on the wings are the same.

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June is soon upon us and that means that all of the animals in our area are going to have offspring to care for. Keep your feeders full (if you can) and keep your eyes peeled for particularly frazzled adults being pestered and harassed by hungry youngsters. I‘ll keep my eyes open and I’ll be sure to share any particularly funny interactions that I can capture for you.

Bill Danielson has been a professional writer and nature photographer for 26 years. He has worked for the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, the Nature Conservancy and the Massachusetts State Parks and he currently teaches high school biology and physics. For more in formation visit his website at www.speakingofnature.com, or head over to Speaking of Nature on Facebook.

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