Mixed Flock of Mount Lemmon Warblers

Finding a mixed flock of Warblers is always exciting. You truly must be in the right place and the right time, not 10 minutes early, not 10 seconds late. Then, within 15 minutes you might see 20 or more warblers, with at least 5 different species. My best day was 10 species (back in 2015).

I figure I've been up Mount Lemmon over 200 times in the past 17 years. And I have only been in "that" right place at the right time, 6 times. 

And while it is exciting, it can be equally frustrating. You are trying to photograph a Hermit Warbler (for example) when you eye shifts to movement of another warbler. They move quickly from branch to branch or tree to tree and stay pretty much hidden from full view. You end up spending several minutes trying to get that one warbler, passing up chances on all the others.

You come back home and look at the 657 photos you took and find only 20 that you like. And no decent photo of the Virginia's Warbler or Townsend Warbler or Black Throated Grey or Graces Warbler or Olive Warbler. Truth be told the Olive and Graces seldom "flock" and stay pretty high up in the Ponderosa Pines. So their presence was merely co-incidental. 

But, there were six species I photographed that I would put in the okay to good category:

Female Hermit Warbler

Nashville Warbler showing his Chestnut Crown Patch

Painted Redstart

Red Faced Warbler

Not a very good Townsend's Warbler

Marginal Wilson's Warbler

Olive versus Hermit Warbler

I have always liked warblers and finding and photographing the less common ones can be exciting if not thrilling. Identifying the various species is sometimes challenging -- especially without the added of a camera, binoculars, or spotting scope.

Like many bird species, the males are often the more colorful making them easier to identify. The male hummingbirds for example. However, the female hummingbirds are a little more challenging. Same is true of Cardinals and Pyrrhuloxias. Males easy, females less so.

And the same is true of warblers.

Plumage in both the Olive Warbler and Hermit Warbler are different between their sexes. As you can clearly see from the photos below, the plumage in the two males is strikingly different. The male Olive has a "butterscotch" head, throat, upper breast and a black mask. The male Hermit has a yellowish head with black throat and upper breast, with a variably dark cheek patch.

Male Olive Warbler

Male Hermit Warbler

However the plumage in the female Olive is quite similar to a young female Hermit Warbler making it challenging to identify in the wild without the add of song. Both females have a yellowish head and throat with a variable darkish cheek patch. As the female Hermit Warbler ages, some black in the throat begins to appear, but even that is variable. As a general rule the wing bars are weaker in the Olive, but again that is variable. Here are photos of the females:

Female Hermit Warbler

Female Olive Warbler

Both of these warblers are constantly foraging and partially (or fully) hidden in Ponderosa Pine  Clutches. The Hermit Warbler doesn't restrict itself to Ponderosa Pines as the Olive typically does, so that can be a clue when seen elsewhere. When both are foraging in Ponderosa Pines, I usually find it too difficult to accurately identify the females until I download the photos and take a closer look. 

I never understood why the Olive Warbler was so named. The male has no visible "olive" color. But on close examination of the female Olive Warbler you can see the olive color on its crown and nape. On the other hand, maybe it was named after my grandmother whose name was "Olive." Here is a photo of the female showing the olive color:

Female Olive Warbler

Birding Mount Lemmon - Part X

Birding is all about being in the right place at the right time. Not approximately, but exactly since you may only get a glance before it's gone.

The key then is to put yourself in the place with the most potential -- your best chance of finding what you are looking for.

Sometimes that's not always possible. For instance, yesterday I couldn't leave until after I served breakfast to our guests. I started with a quick look at the Alder Picnic site. As luck would have it, there was a nice male Olive Warbler waiting for me.

My next stop was a walk from the Cookie Cabin to Marshall Gulch Picnic site. Again, as luck would have it just across from the Cookie Cabin was a Red Faced Warbler sitting on a branch cleaning himself (for at least five minutes). A little further down, another Red Faced Warbler. There were a few other birds but I think as time passes, birding slows down as more people walk, run, or drive up and down the road.

My next stop was Incinerator Ridge. I started at the bottom but not much going on. However, at the top it was so birdie that it was difficult to keep up. I had to decide what to photograph. I started just taking photos not always sure what I was photographing. Case in point, there were lots of Pygmy and White Breasted Nuthatches -- it wasn't until I got home and downloaded photos that I saw a Red Breasted Nuthatch among the photos. Just one, but it was good enough.

In a matter of three minutes or so, photos of Townsend's, Hermit, and Red Faced Warblers. Then there was another bird that appeared to be a fledgling that I have yet to identify. I'll show that as well. And lots of Hermit Thrushes, Mountain Chickadees, a nice Warbling Vireo ...

My next stop was going to be Rose Canyon Lake, but I was having too much fun at Incinerator Ridge so I never got to RCL. "I ended up taking 604 photos."

Olive Warbler

Olive Warbler

Red Faced Warbler

Red Faced Warbler

Red Faced Warbler

Hermit Warbler

Townsend's Warbler

Warbling Vireo

Red Breasted Nuthatch Female

Fledgling Something (Yellow-Eyed Junco?)

Mountain Chickadee

Yellow-Eyed Junco Juvenile

This Week's Warblers

Just now catching up from a very busy season and then getting out for a few days photographing. I'll start with nine warblers I have been able to find and photograph this past week.

The first is a Hermit Warbler that -- acting out its name -- did not want to be photographed. I did the best I could. The others are quite a bit better.

Hermit Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Olive Warbler Female

Painted Redstart

Red Faced Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Yellow Breasted Chat

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Birding Mount Lemmon

The best months for birding Mount Lemmon are April through the beginning of September. By October many of the migrants have moved on to their winter homes. Most of what remains are the birds that live in the Catalinas year round.

So I was somewhat surprised to see a Hermit Warbler the beginning of October:

Hermit Warbler

 The Olive Warbler is one of the few warblers that are year round residents:

Olive Warbler

Townsend's Warblers can usually be found year round though with much lower numbers in June and July (not a very good photo but just to confirm its presence).

Townsend's Warbler

Hermit Thrushes, Acorn Woodpeckers, Mountain Chickadees, Pygmy Nuthatches, and Western Bluebirds are year round residents so no surprise to find them on Mount Lemmon in October:

Hermit Thrush

Acorn Woodpecker

Mountain Chickadee

Pygmy Nuthatch

Western Bluebird

Birding Mount Lemmon

There are many very good places to bird in the Catalina Mountains. One of my favorite is Incinerator Ridge. I've had days of finding 10 warbler species there. While this isn't the best time of year since many of the migratory birds have left, I did find Hermit, Grace's, Townsend's, and Olive Warblers yesterday.

Didn't get photos of the Grace's, and the Townsend's aren't good enough to show, but here are some Hermits and Olives:

Hermit Warbler

Hermit Warbler

Hermit Warbler

Olive Warbler

Olive Warbler

Olive Warbler

Hermit Warbler

Continuing to share my warbler photos along with information about each species, from my latest book: "Warblers of Arizona, A Guide to Finding and Photographing Warblers in Southern Arizona." 

If you are interested in purchasing it, please email me at exclusivelywildlifephotos.com or info@azuregate.com.

Hermit Warbler

Common Name: Hermit Warbler

Scientific Name: Setophaga occidentalis

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Conservation Status: Least Concern, stable population with estimates of 2.5 million

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Size: 5.5 inches

Description: head is entirely yellow; lighter yellow eyering; small black bill; black chin, throat, and upper breast; variable gray and white belly; two white wing bars; no streaking on flanks; back is variably gray; tail dark with white underside and outer feathers

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Male/Female: females have gray cheeks while the male cheek is a bright yellow, females lack the dark black throat; (the lower left photo on the opposite page is a female, the others are male)

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Range: Western Washington to Costa Rica

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Migration: winters in Central America, summers along the Pacific Coast

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Season for Arizona: April/May and August/September

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Habitat: mixed coniferous forests at high altitudes preferring very tall trees

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Community Behavior: solitary or mixed warbler flocks

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Feeding Behavior: gleans from middle and outer portion of branches in the very tops of pine trees

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Diet: Insects and spiders

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Nesting Behavior: cup shaped nest in pine needles near the tips of the pine branches high up in the tree, 3 to 5 creamy white eggs with brown and lilac speckles

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Where to Find in Southern Arizona: the Catalina’s, Huachuca’s, Chiracahua’s, and Santa Rita’s above 5,000 feet

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Comments: Female similar in plumage to female Olive Warbler; female hybridizes with male Townsend’s Warbler (though no evidence that female Townsend's hybridize with male Hermit)

Mount Lemmon Warblers

It is high season for Warblers now. And there is no better place than Mount Lemmon to find them. Some days are better than others, but this time of year you can usually find several species. Yesterday I photographed six different species, but I've had days with 10 and two day periods with 12. 

Some knowledge of where to look, and what kind of foliage for each species is clearly helpful. But, there is always an element of luck. You can be in the right place at a good time, and you'll often find several this time of year.

It is impossible to predict when a flock of warblers will come through. But when that happens, birding is exciting. For the photographer who waits patiently for an opportunity to photograph one bird, it can also be a bit frustrating when all of a sudden you are faced with many species and you must decide which to photograph.

Here are some photographs from yesterday:

Grace's Warbler

Hermit Warbler

Orange Crowned Warbler

Painted Redstart

Townsend's Warbler

Wilson's Warbler