Pine Warbler
A grassy, slope along the roadside that’s lined with evergreen shrubs is often a gathering spot for ground-feeding songbirds like sparrows, towhees, finches, robins and thrashers, as well as bluebirds, phoebes, kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and sometimes a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. This morning the slope looked deserted, except for a single small bird that flew up from the quiet expanse of grass into a small tree. When I looked at it closely, I saw the warm-yellow breast of a Pine Warbler.
Pine Warblers are among the few wood warbler species that spend winters here, instead of flying further south. True to their name, they are most often found in the pines, but at this time of year especially, they also mix with feeding flocks of other small songbirds in yards, and they may come to a feeder – a small gray and yellow bird with an olive back and head, a sunny-yellow breast, blurry streaks on the sides and two white bars in gray wings. This year, however, I have not seen nearly as many Pine Warblers as in previous years, so this one was a bright and welcome sight. About this time of January, I usually notice Pine Warblers beginning to sing, or to sing more often, and their simple but musical trilled songs sound especially lovely in the drab and creaking winter woods. I haven’t yet heard one sing this year, but it may be that I just haven’t been outside at the right time.