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Subject:

PG County: Brewster's Warbler, 09/05

From:

Robert Ostrowski

Reply-To:

Robert Ostrowski

Date:

Sun, 6 Sep 2009 15:44:40 -0400

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I spent the day birding in PG County with my brothers Mike and Tom. Our main objective was to look for warblers at Fran Uhler Natural Area in Bowie, while also keeping an eye out for Red-breasted Nuthatches since we've had success there and we are getting to about the right time for them. We got to Fran Uhler at 6:00AM and stayed for 5 1/2 hours, walking 6.17 miles. This may seem like a lot, but there are still large areas of the natural area that we didn't get to bird. Things started off fairly slow, but not horribly so. After about 30 minutes of walking in the relative darkness, the sun began to peek out from the horizon and we ran into our first warbler flock, composed mainly of American Redstarts. During sunrise, I also heard at least two WILD TURKEYs calling in the distance. At the end of the walk, we amassed a satisfying 10 (or 11) species of warblers, the most notable being an adult male BREWSTER'S WARBLER. Unfortunately I was the only one who got on the bird before it was chased off by a Chestnut-sided Warbler.

The bird had a bright yellow forehead, dark black eyeline stretching from the base of the bill to just behind the eye, gray/blueish gray upper parts, and pale gray/whiteish underparts. I didn't get as good of a look as I would've liked to at the wings, but from what I could see there were definite yellow markings, but not a congruous patch. The bird was in a mixed flock composed of American Redstarts, Chestnut-sided Warblers, one pure BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, five or six Gnatcatchers, Chickadees, Red-eyed Vireos, and a FOS BROWN CREEPER. We were watching this flock on a dirt road, with a field of tall grass and shrubs at our backs and mixed deciduous woods, with some Virginia Pines, in front of us. I watched the bird for about 20 seconds before it was chased off by a Chestnut-sided Warbler and the flock as a whole gradually moved deeper into the woods towards the river and several beaver ponds. 

Golden-winged Warbler would have been a highly coveted county bird for me, so I'm a little sorry it was a hybrid. On the other hand, it was still very unexpected and very striking. In fact, I might even be more excited at seeing this hybrid than I would be a pure Golden-winged. According to the Yellowbook, there is at least one record of a Brewster's Warbler in the county but I have not heard anything about it/them. The only Golden-winged Warbler report I know of is from my brother Tom at Governor Bridge from last year's Fall Count, though I'm sure there have been others. 

After Fran Uhler, we headed over to South Tract, did a two hour river watch at Jug Bay, and ended the day by birding Governor Bridge in the evening. Highlights from those stops were: 1 SUMMER TANAGER, 5 Greater Yellowlegs, 10 BLUE-WINGED TEAL at Jug Bay; and one Canada Warbler and three Nighthawks at Governor Bridge.

Here is the full list from Fran Uhler:

Location:     Fran Uhler Natural Area
Observation date:     9/5/09
Number of species:     61

Wood Duck     2
WILD TURKEY     2     
Great Blue Heron     1
Green Heron     5
Black Vulture     9
Turkey Vulture     1
Cooper's Hawk     1
Red-shouldered Hawk     2
Rock Pigeon     1
Mourning Dove     6
Yellow-billed Cuckoo     3     One observed eating a frog.
Chimney Swift     4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird     2
Red-bellied Woodpecker     2
Downy Woodpecker     3
Hairy Woodpecker     2     
Northern Flicker     3
Pileated Woodpecker     3     
Eastern Wood-Pewee     11   
Acadian Flycatcher     5
Empidonax sp.     4
Eastern Phoebe     2
White-eyed Vireo     12
YELLOW-THROATED VIREO     1     
Red-eyed Vireo     12
Blue Jay     4
American Crow     10
Carolina Chickadee     20
Tufted Titmouse     8
White-breasted Nuthatch     3
BROWN CREEPER    1     
Carolina Wren     6
House Wren     1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     9
Eastern Bluebird     3
Veery     1
American Robin     60     est
Gray Catbird     4
Northern Mockingbird     1
Brown Thrasher     1
European Starling     3
Cedar Waxwing     9
BLUE-WINGED WARBLER     1     

BREWSTER'S WARBLER (hybrid)     1     
Northern Parula     1
Chestnut-sided Warbler     6
Magnolia Warbler     3
Pine Warbler     3
Black-and-white Warbler     6
American Redstart     14
Ovenbird     2
Common Yellowthroat     4
Hooded Warbler     1
warbler sp.     2
Scarlet Tanager     1  
Northern Cardinal     10
Blue Grosbeak     3
Indigo Bunting     10
Common Grackle     4
Baltimore Oriole     1
American Goldfinch     10

Robert Ostrowski
Crofton, MD