April 10th, 2012

The first wave of Yellow-Rumped Warblers moved through here today, numbering around 20 or so.

It was their call-notes that were heard first and a pair of binoculars confirmed them. They (along with Pine Warblers) are usually the first to return. This is a little earlier than most years, but their arrival marks the start of the warbler season, which usually continues until about the 3rd week of May. As Sean noted in an earlier post, there are upwards of 30 species that might be found in Waterloo Region during migration, so keep your eyes and ears open!

This is species 53 for me, but I have heard through the grape-vine that Sean has been seeing a wonderful diversity of waterfowl and this warbler brings me a little closer to his total ; )