northeast-flora-and-fauna

As the climate warms, it's possible Palm Warblers may spend winters with us, but right now I usually see them as they migrate through. I've shared springtime Palm Warblers before, but last October I saw several, 2 of them pictured below. Although this isn't a truly tropical bird - they breed north of us - they were first documented over the winter in/near Caribbean Palm Trees , which is how they got the "palm" part of their name. They're comfortable in our forests too though; I can only presume that if they had 1st been spotted in NJ they'd have been named something like Oak Warblers or Maple Warblers. Here's some general warbler information from Leslie the Bird Nerd. October 14, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 250352710, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) October 14, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 250353639, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's a bird you're most likely to see in New Jersey during migration; it's the Palm Warbler . Pine Warblers spend winters at least a little south of us and got their name by being noticed on a Caribbean island with Palm Trees, but they breed well up north into Canada. They probably look at New Jersey a little like a subway; they wouldn't want to live there, but it's critical for their commute. Since they mostly just pass through, I don't see Palm Warblers a lot. Unlike many warblers, the PWs are happy to forage on the ground, and can sometimes be noticed by their habit of bobbing their tails up and down a lot , way more than the average bird. We're probably more likely to see the eastern version of the PW which is yellow all the way to the belly. There is also a western version that has a yellow throat but then the yellow fades to white. But since migration is an imperfect science, it probably wouldn't be shocking to see some westerners who are a littl...