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Marvelous May Migrants

Photo by Tom Hodgson. Blackburnian Warbler.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Blackburnian Warbler.
Phot by Tom Hodgson. Cape May Warbler.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Cape May Warbler.

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Tom Hodgson and the Waterloo Natural History Association for the information and photos in this column.)

They are coming by the thousands.

They fly at night, navigating by starlight and the earth’s magnetic field, and many have travelled from as far away as Central and South America.

They are dropping into area woodlands to spend the daylight hours voraciously feeding on newly emerged insects. As the sun sets, they will take to the skies again to continue their dark journey northward, only to be replaced by another wave arriving early the next morning.

Photo by Tom Hodgson. Northern Yellow Throated warbler.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Northern Yellow Throated warbler.

They are considered by many birders to be the colorful “butterflies” of the bird world and the “sexiest” of all the song birds. Who are they? They are the warblers.

For the next four weeks, wave after wave of warblers will be visiting the Chelsea area. Over 30 species in all. Some will stay to nest, but most will move on to breeding grounds in Northern Michigan and Canada.

They largely avoid urban neighborhoods, but will drop into isolated tracts of woodlands like the one surrounding the Chelsea Hospital. They are also attracted to wooded shorelines of area lakes and the banks of local streams where some early insect hatches are underway.

Photo by Tom Hodgson. Black Throated Green Warbler.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Black Throated Green Warbler.

Fortunately, the nearby Waterloo Recreation Area provides thousands of acres of prime resting habitat for migrating warblers. But with 20,000 acres of park land to investigate, where does one begin?

Although warblers can be found throughout the park, there are several easily accessible hot spots where warbler watching can be especially good. One of them is the public boat launch and picnic site at the Park’s Big Portage Lake Unit on Seymour Road. The public boat launch and picnic site and associated trails on Crooked Lake off of Loveland Road is another.

Phot by Tom Hodgson. Magnolia Warbler.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Magnolia Warbler.

The area around Mill Lake Outdoor Center accessible from Bush Road is another hot spot. The birds are especially attracted to the stretch of Mill Creek between Bush Road and the lake as there is usually an insect hatch underway this time of year.

Walking Glenn Road between Baldwin Road and Katz Road, and List Road south of Seymour Road near the Big Portage Unit can also be productive. Cerulean warblers nest along McClure Road just east of Loveland Road. They are tree top foragers and nesters so plan on looking up into the canopy. Good binoculars are a must for watching warblers, but spotting scopes are useless as these birds are constantly on the move.

This should be a good year for warbler watching as the leaves are behind schedule due to the cool spring weather.

The birds however, are right on time. This means that they will be foraging closer to the ground and will be less hidden by the expanding leaves.

Happy warbler watching.

Photo by Tom Hodgson. Black-Throated Blue Warbler.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Black Throated Blue Warbler.
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