Photo: Yellow Warbler, Sheen Watkins/Audubon Photography Awards
Evelyn Novins
Spring is a busy time for bird-watchers in northern Virginia as flocks of tiny warblers migrate through our area to northern breeding grounds. But there are some that migrate to northern Virginia to breed, and it’s exciting to welcome them back. The inventory of northern Virginia breeders includes Black and White Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and Yellow-throated Warbler.
Yellow Warbler, Gregory Seitz/Audubon Photography Awards
One of my favorite local warblers is the Yellow Warbler. Its song is easily recognizable: sweet, sweet, I’m so sweet, and although the female can be relatively drab, the bright reddish streaks on the yellow breast of the breeding male are highly visible.
This small bird, 5 inches in length with an 8-inch wingspan, weighs less than half an ounce, but, like most warblers, it’s a champion at migration. It winters in Central and South America, dining on the formidable selection of rainforest insects. Yellow warblers use the winter to fatten up for the long journey to nesting grounds in the eastern United States. They wing their way across the Gulf of Mexico to the Dry Tortugas and southern Florida. They stop there to rest and refuel before continuing up the coast.
Creating an environment to attract warblers as they proceed to northern nesting grounds is challenging. They do not come to feeders, so providing an insect-rich habitat is the only option. This means giving up chemical pesticides and planting trees (such as native oaks or maples) and shrubs that host a variety of insects. You also can plant some fruiting natives, such as Poke Weed and Virginia Creeper, because warblers do, on occasion, eat berries. Water is essential, and gently bubbling or running water is best. Make sure there is nearby shrubby vegetation to provide safe perches for bathing birds.
Although generally not the first warbler to make its appearance in northern Virginia, the Yellow Warbler arrives relatively early and should be here in numbers by early May. So, grab your binoculars and start checking some local warbler hotspots. Good options for Yellow Warbler are wooded areas by water with a thick understory. In Alexandria, try along Dyke Marsh’s Haul Road, in Four Mile Run Parks in Arlington and Alexandria, and Woodbridge’s Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.