MacGillivrays Warbler at Wakefield

Mike Collins (collins@ram.nrl.navy.mil)
Sat, 19 Sep 1998 12:16:33 -0400


At the risk of losing all credibility, I'd like to report
a MacGillivray's Warbler that I saw at Wakefield Park this
morning. I was birding with Edna Aaron and Larry Cartwright
along the powerline cut that has been good for Connecticut
and Mourning Warblers this fall. We were on the west side
of the cut a short distance south of the tennis courts.
There are willow thickets in the cut in this area. A few
birds flew from the cut into a tree on the edge of the
woods. One of them was an early junco. I was able to lock
onto the other bird for about a second and clearly saw the
gray hood, large broken eye ring, and green on the back.
I've seen dozens of MacGillivray's out west and was sure
of the ID. But I must admit that I was a bit reluctant to 
call it out until the others saw it, too. Unfortunately, 
the bird flew immediately and neither Edna nor Larry were
able to get a good look at it.

Mike Collins
Annandale, Virginia
collins@ram.nrl.navy.mil