Railing and Blackburnian Color

Here in Northwestern Ohio a line of thunderstorms passed thru on their way to Canada, leaving behind water, winds and warblers. Not the least of these: the male Blackburnian Warblers. By evening the winds had abated but the Blackburnian throat colors seemed to have heated up:
The warbler drawing the biggest crowds was a female Cerulean, the only one of her species found here so far this week. The bird was found by Lelis Navarette of Quito who leads many of POIB’s trips in his native Ecuador. The Cerulean is one of America’s most trouble warblers. It is beset by habitat removal in its Columbian wintering grounds and mountaintop removal in West Virginia where many breed. Profiteers versus a beautiful but helpless creature.
The Black and White Warblers are one of the most abundant warblers here and their ability to scale trunks and climb upside on limbs may explain why there are so few nuthatches to find here.

American Redstart.

This Sora was along the Auto Tour route in Ottawa NWR, found by a woman who didn’t know what it was. it was only her second day of birding and she’d gotten out of her car to “find that diving duck [Pied-billed Grebe]” and then flushed this funny-looking bird. Another birder driving by told her what it was, which meant nothing to her.

Tags: American Redstart, Black and Whie Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Magee Marsh, Ohio, Sora