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The Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum) is a very active wood-warbler. It feeds on insects from the ground in marshy, weedy or brushy areas, although it will occasionally take them from the air as well. It frequently bobs its tail while hopping about and has yellow undertail coverts, both of which are give-aways for identification. This is a fun bird to watch, but we had never encountered one prior to the first experience described below.

Resources where you can find out more:

This individual was spotted in Pearce Estate Park, Calgary, by Deb & Royce on Saturday, January 4, 2003. We think it may be a first documented winter sighting of a Palm Warbler in Calgary, according to feedback from local birders in the know.

The picture quality unfortunately is not high, since light conditions were poor every day we sighted the bird. In addition, the main spot we could find it for photographing is completely surrounded by a tall chain-link fence, making good angles tough to get and a closer approach impossible.

Here is a slightly edited form of the initial report we provided to the Albertabird mailing list:

"My wife and I made the sighting on our way out of the park around 1:30 PM, passing by the fish hatchery area where the water exits a pipe from complex into an open area, then into the drainage pipe at the head of the creek. We always check this location since the moving water, bugs, bushy vegetation and so on frequently host something or other.

"As we approached, we could hear something before we spotted it. After getting closer, we saw what was evidently a warbler type of bird by itself. (Okay, there was a Killdeer in there too, but they said they weren't together. :~) The warbler made a 'pip' noise as it hopped around. It hopped along the concrete walls surrounding the waters, frequently performing a hawking type of maneuver out into open air, then returning to the concrete edge.

"When we got closer, the bird flew down into the muddy area along the side of the open water and began foraging along there. We got a really good look for about 15 - 20 minutes as it puttered around between the mud and the concrete walls.

"Key identifying characteristics were:

    • Yellow on undertail coverts
    • Buff/brown over all with brown streaky chest
    • Partial white eye-ring effect, above & below eye
    • Black stripe through eye with whitish streak above
    • White flash along tail feathers
    • Dark legs
    • Hopping & tail pumping behavior
    • Foraging in muddy area, hawking from wall edges"

Checking our Sibley and other references at home, we identified the mystery warbler as a Palm Warbler. Review of our photos and subsequent sightings by numerous other birders confirmed the identification. It was very exciting to see this bird in Calgary at this time of year! It should have migrated to Florida 3+ months ago.

Photo info:

  • 320 x 328 true color
  • Exposure time: 1/1000
  • F-stop: 7.4
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Spot
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

Another shot of the Palm Warbler from January 4.

Photo info:

  • 320 x 298 true color
  • Exposure time: 1/990
  • F-stop: 7.4
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Spot
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

Another shot of the Palm Warbler from January 4. The annoying greenish smudge is a plastic covered chain-link fence, through which I was shooting diagonally. The bird was close but I could not find any unobstructed shooting angles, so I did the best I could under the circumstances.

Photo info:

  • 320 x 492 true color
  • Exposure time: 10/2653
  • F-stop: 5.3
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Spot
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

Another shot of the Palm Warbler from January 4. The annoying greenish smudge is more chain-link fence.

Photo info:

  • 320 x 349 true color
  • Exposure time: 10/2386
  • F-stop: 5.3
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Spot
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

We returned to Pearce Estate Park several times the following week and were able to spot the Palm Warbler each time, always in the same location near the fish hatchery. We had good success in the morning between 9:30 - 10:00, and at lunch time between 11:45 - 1:00. See the sighting reports at the weaselhead.org.

A few photos were possible again around 12:00 on Wednesday, January 8, 2003, but once more conditions were not ideal so the quality isn't great.

Photo info:

  • 320 x 326 true color
  • Exposure time: 10/1182
  • F-stop: 4.2
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Spot
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

(click image for a slightly larger photo)

Another photo from January 8. No, that's not a muffler.

Photo info:

  • 320 x 216 true color
  • Exposure time: 10/2653
  • F-stop: 4.7
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Spot
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

Larger photo info:

  • 475 x 320 true color
  • 95KB

(click image for a slightly larger photo)

Another photo from January 8.

Photo info:

  • 320 x 255 true color
  • Exposure time: 10/2653
  • F-stop: 4.7
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Spot
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

Larger photo info:

  • 475 x 378 true color
  • 107KB

Photos were taken again around around 9:45 the morning of Thursday, January 9, 2003. Since light was poor, picture quality again suffered.

This was the last day that I saw the warbler. We had a cold snap on the weekend which, at a minimum, would have wiped out the remaining insect population that the bird was after in the immediate area. (Hopefully it flew off somewhere warmer and will be around come spring.)

Photo info:

  • 320 x 219 true color
  • Exposure time: 10/2368
  • F-stop: 5.3
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Center Weighted
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

(click image for a slightly larger photo)

Another shot from January 9. I brightened this one a little.

Photo info:

  • 320 x 238 true color
  • Exposure time: 10/3012
  • F-stop: 5.3
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Pattern
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

Larger photo info:

  • 677 x 503 true color
  • 174KB

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