Hal Hurka, a friend and fellow birder, emailed that he had seen a pine warbler in his yard. Hal lives in the Cherry Avenue area of Charlottesville and says that behind his house are woods that are 400 feet deep with large poplars and some pines. As the warbler visited his feeders, he was able to get the picture above. Interestingly, my wife gave me a bird feeder with a camera that will also identify visitors and it noted that a warbler came by. If I have warblers, I’ve not personally identified one.
Pine warblers are small songbirds in the warbler family. Virginia is the northern-most state where they will live year-round.
| The birds have white bellies, two white wing bars, dark legs and thin, relatively long pointed bills. They have yellowish ‘spectacles’ around their eyes. Adult males have olive upperparts and bright yellow throats and breasts; females and immatures display upperparts which are olive brown. The song of the pine warbler is a musical trill. |
Their breeding ranges are open pinewoods in eastern North America.
They forage slowly on tree trunks and branches by poking their bill into pinecones. The birds also find food by searching on the ground. They birds eat insects, seeds and berries and will come to suet feeders.
Their nests are deep, open cups, which are placed near the end of a tree branch. Pine warblers prefer to nest in pine trees and lay 3 to 5 eggs. Be on the lookout for these friendly birds They closely resemble a goldfinch, but with a little more brownish/gold on their feathers for this time of year. If you see one, let me know.
