Worm-eating Warbler!

How to make plans for a Tuesday evening: have someone text you that an uber-rare warbler was spotted in a park in the city. That was me today. Yesterday a regular visitor to Bunn's Creek Centennial Park took some photos of a little warbler that she noticed foraging. When she got home, she compared the photos to a field guide and discovered that she had just noticed a very uncommon visitor; a Worm-eating Warbler. By uncommon I mean that only one individual has been recorded before; in 1996 one bird was recorded at Delta Beach, and then again in 2002 one person saw a single bird. This is the only the third Worm-eating Warbler to ever be recorded in Manitoba. Anyway, I was heading out to check out the park this morning when a friend texted me saying that the warbler had not been found that morning. I turned around. But then later this evening, he texted me saying that he had in fact found it later that afternoon! I grabbed my camera and binoculars and rushed out the door.

I was by no means the only hopeful birder in the park; the one who had originally spotted the warbler as well as about a dozen others were meandering around with me hoping to spot this very inconspicuous bird. It doesn't forage by moving leaves around or scratching the earth, rather, it just sticks its head under the leaves and looks/feels for its prey items. On top of this, they are not very vocal birds, and they are content to methodically search one area at a time which means they aren't flitting around constantly (which draws very little attention and makes them hard to locate). On top of this even, they are very drab colored, like spring leaves. Literally nothing about this bird draws attention to it. So we were in essence looking for a single, small, shy, quiet, bird which forages under shrubs and leaf litter and had a whole park to scour. At a certain point one birder spotted the little guy and we all rushed quickly and quietly over to where it had been located. By the time I arrived they had lost the bird in the foliage again. Thankfully they knew the general area in which it was and we built a bit of a perimeter around the bird and watched from all angles. I was the one to spot the bird this time after getting excited about Hermit Thrushes and Kinglets, I finally noticed a small bird on the ground with the telltale stripes on its head! I had found the Worm-eating Warbler!

Worm-eating Warbler

In case you cannot locate it in the picture above, it is almost exactly in the center, slightly yellower than the surrounding leaves with a couple stripes on its head. As if this picture isn't a good enough example of how well they naturally blend in, here is another photo which has this individual in it. Try and spot it!

Worm-eating Warbler

It is in fact there. As I am writing this, I am trying to remember where he is in this picture and find him back. Hopefully you can find him! Now imagine trying to find this guy when you have a whole park to search, and many other birds constantly flitting around you and distracting you. Needless to say this species is a lifer for me (and therefore also a FOY). Now my life list is up to 225 species and my year list up to 107! (Just as a little comparison, last year was my previous best list at this point in the year, and I was at 79 species... I'm doing a little better this year. :) )

Enough about this rather un-striking bird. Here are a couple other photos from the evening.

This muskrat was chilling in the creek and feeding on the edge.

Muskrat

Muskrat

The original reason that Bunn's Creek has been drawing so much attention is the abundance of Northern Cardinals that can be found there. They are very infrequent elsewhere in Manitoba so many birders and photographers have been coming here recently to enjoy their beautiful songs and try capture their beauty in photos.

Male Northern Cardinal

 Unfortunately, I never got any closer to this guy than these shots I took from across the creek. Quite incredible how brilliant red they are... never gets old to see or hear these amazing birds.

Here is an Eastern Phoebe that took my by surprise as I was searching for the Worm-eating Warbler.

Eastern Phoebe

Hermit Thrushes are abundant in migration but very shy... and my camera kept wanting to focus on the brush around the birds instead of the birds themselves.

Hermit Thrush

Here is a pair of Mallards that were feeding in a flooded section of woods.

Mallard pair

With regard to the other birdlife in the park... The air was constantly filled with the songs and calls of some nesting Pine Siskins. Kinglets of both varieties (Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned) were abundant and active as well as numerous species of sparrows, both resident and migratory, including White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos. As mentioned before, Hermit Thrushes could be found foraging almost anywhere you looked. I spotted both a Sharp-shinned Hawk and two Cooper's Hawks which were keeping the birds on their toes. The usual bands of Chickadees, Nuthatches (both varieties), Brown Creepers, and Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers were present as well, adding a lot of life to the foliage, both in movement and sound.

Bunn's Creek is truly the definition of a birding hotspot. Many birds follow the creek during migration and also during the breeding season as it provides food and water while the trees and bush provide shelter. Its setting near housing makes it a frequently birded location which means that any rarities present are more likely to be discovered. One other enjoyable aspect of the evening was putting faces to so many of the names I've known in the birding community and to share a special experience like this with them.

On the way home I stopped by the Bunn's Creek Outlet (where it drains into the Red River) to see what sorts of waterbirds might be found there. I found a large group of Red-necked Grebes (a FOY) across the river and did my best to photograph them, but the great distance required heavy cropping. Here is my evidence picture though.

Red-necked Grebes

In addition, I found some less-than-normally shy Wood Ducks which were acting up, calling, and chasing each other around making for an entertaining couple of minutes. I also was able to watch some Mallards do the deed and consummate their relationship. It was an interesting sight to see and was my first time witnessing any birds do this. Here are some photos of a male Wood Duck and Mallard.

Male Wood Duck

Male Wood Duck and Male Mallard

By the way, if you couldn't locate the Worm-eating Warbler in the second photo, once again it is quite near the center of the image. Look for its head... hopefully you can spot it now!

It was a very successful outing without question and the beautiful weather made it the perfect evening. Thanks for following along with me here, and feel free to check out my Bird Log as well to access my eBird checklists for a full species account! 

Have a great evening, 

Joel G.