Winter Birds and Summer Birds

On Sunday Deb and I went birding along the Ottawa River. It was still windy with lots of dark clouds moving through, and I wore my winter coat even though the forecast mentioned more showers later in the morning. We stopped at Ottawa Beach first to look for shorebirds, diving ducks and Hudsonian Godwits, but a large flock of songbirds in the trees near the parking lot turned out to be the highlight of our stop. I saw a few juncos moving about the brush, and heard Golden-crowned Kinglets calling in the trees overhead. When I stopped for a closer look I noticed a yellowish bird – some type of warbler – with the group and started examining the flock in detail. I didn’t see that particular warbler again, but I noticed one Nashville Warbler, one Yellow-rumped Warbler, at least two Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and – to my surprise – a Black-and-White Warbler! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in October before, so seeing one again was like enjoying a little bit of summer.