[cobirds] Bay-breasted Warbler in Bent County

Birders,

I found a female Bay-breasted Warbler this morning (5/16) in Van's Grove
in Bent County. This is one of the rarest migrant warblers in Colorado,
in my opinion. My previous two sightings of the species were in the
1980's, one in the summer of 1984 at Wild Basin in Rocky Mountain
National Park, and one, seen by many (and not found by me) in the Wheat
Ridge Greenbelt. This could be a first Bent County record.

I called members of my local birding cohort, and three lucky locals got
to see the bird through mid-afternoon. Norma Verhoeff photographed the
bird in the morning and Janeal Thompson and Jane Stulp got good views
and photos in the afternoon.

This bird feeds sluggishly at mid-levels in the stunted elms in the
woods. It occasionally joins a tiny group of other warblers, including
Yellow, Wilson's, Yellow-breasted Chat, Common Yellowthroat and
Ovenbird. I observed a nesting American Robin chasing it actively.

Good luck if you look for this beautiful eastern vagrant.

Duane Nelson
Las Animas, Bent County, CO

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.