Birdstud's Birdchat: Zoo-zee, zoo-zoo-zee!

Monday, May 5, 2014

Zoo-zee, zoo-zoo-zee!

With its black bib contrasted against a predominantly (and vibrantly) yellow colored head and face; the Black-throated Green warbler (BTGW) is an eye-catching bird indeed.

To be clear; only the top portion of its yellow head is actually remotely "green" in a kind of dull olive shade. It's unique spring song of, "zoo-zee, zoo-zoo-zee!" is also one that even the novice birder can easily recognize, after hearing it only a few times. This colorful wood warbler breeds in northeastern coniferous forests and covers a great section of the United States beginning this time each migration. The male actually has two songs it sings: "zee-zee-zee-zoo-zee" and "zoo-zee-zoo-zoo-zee." The individual notes are rather fuzzy, however the last note of both songs ends higher.

Today (May 3, 2014) although still somewhat windy, was apparently the day to find them at Lake Park as at least 15 were tallied by the Lake Park Birders by the end of their spring Warbler Walk. While I didn't tag along as I often do on these Saturdays; I did enjoy seeing my own BTGWs during my solo walk around the expansive Olmstead-designed park, with an accompanying small (par-3) golf course. A healthy hatch of fresh insects had spread itself throughout the woodlands, and the many spring avian migrants were taking full advantage of the flying bumper-crop. My first reaction to stepping from the WPT (White Pick-up Truck for you newbies to this blog) and seeing all the birds flitting around the leafless vegetation was, "Wow...Warbler Mania!"

Brown-headed cowbird
mad-dogging another male

At every turn of my head there was another FOY (First of year) bird! Of course I'd rather expected that kind of experience having been at Lake Park at this time of year before, however as any true dyed in the wool birder will enthusiastically tell you, "It's like the first time, each time." The wind was huffing up from the south and pushing along with it a welcome 50 degree temperature. One man holding a pair of binoculars I briefly talked to, said he'd "predicted this kind of fall out today." While I'm no meteorologist and don't play one on TV; I had no quarrel with his logic as the proof was clearly in this natural pudding, at Lake Park.

Lake Park trail renovations

Apparently Milwaukee County had come across some funding for Lake Park trail improvements as the beejeebers was torn out of a great majority of them; large stones, missing asphalt, tilled ground and yellow caution tape were ever present on the southernmost end of the foot bridge. Joggers and walkers zigzagged as best they could to avoid the debris and construction. Birders took to the ravine below and the grass areas above to circumnavigate the path and extensive road work. Thankfully, none of this manmade inconvenience seemed to bother the birds; they were plentiful and varied in species.