Last Thursday (10/28) with the beautiful weather and a full lunch break, I
took the opportunity to grab a sandwich and eat it on the Mall.  Since I had
yet to get a close look at the new grounds around the National Museum of the
American Indian, I decided to eat it there.  So I sat on the wall by the big
pond and enjoyed the pseudo-natural beaver pond.  Being the middle of the
day, I wasn't expecting to see much birdwise, but it wasn't long before I
saw a warbler hoping around on the ground amongst the bushes near my feet.
The bird was picking lots of very small bugs off the ground and the bushes,
and seemed more concerned about getting harassed by the House Sparrows than
getting close to me.  In the end it was probably within 2 feet of me at its
closest.  Who needs binoculars when they're that close?  Problem was, the
bird was just a uniform and not particularly striking olive-gray with no
outstanding field marks.  Based on these features, it didn't take long to
figure that it was either an Orange-crowned Warbler or a Common Yellowthroat
- most likely a first year female of either species, and in the end I have
concluded it was an Orange-crowned.  The lack of brown tones, more olive
than yellow throat without a clear demarcation between it and the malar, and
the faint, blurry grey streaks on the olive breast helped me reach that
conclusion.  I never got a good look at the undertail coverts because I was
looking down on the bird most of the time.



I've never seen an Orange-crowned spend so much time on the ground, but the
behavior immediately reminded me of a close relative, the Nashville Warbler.
The Nashville that spent last winter at the Arboretum behaved in much the
same fashion - staying close to the ground and picking bugs off the
undersides of leaves.



Also present at the pond was a Swamp Sparrow.



Sorry for the late post.



Good birding,

Paul Pisano

Arlington, VA