October Warblers

On a cold, blustery, and even snowy 11 October 2018, we banded almost 50 individual birds in our Northfield backyard. Among them were several warblers than, earlier in the fall, are considered to be common. Now that October is upon is, these same species are flagged by eBird, which now demands documentation. The first is a Bay-breasted Warbler, identified by the faint cinnamon wash on its breast. Note the few bay-colored feathers in the bird’s crown, possibly signifying this bird is an adult male returning to its basic (winter) plumage. According to Janessen’s Birds in Minnesota, a fairly dated resource published in 1987, late dates for Bay-breasted Warblers in southern Minnesota range from 19 through 25 October.

The second photo is of a Blackpoll Warbler. Janssen's late dates for southern Minnesota range from 5 to 25 October. I usually Photoshop away my hand when I photograph banded birds. But, with a Blackpoll, you need to see the bird’s yellowish toes. So my fingers remain. I did edit my hands away in the last photo of a Magnolia Warbler. This individual was the second I caught on 11 October. Note the large, white patches on the tail feathers. Janssen’s southern Minnesota dates for this warbler range from 10 October through 10 November.