Warbler Food Line
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It’s kind of unnerving to come down in the morning and find an empty feeder and hungry pine warblers lined up for their mealworm rations.
And then there are the line cutters.
There are at least three individual pine warblers coming in for handouts. Piney, the tamest and one I’ve been feeding for four years, is seen first in line. He can be distinguished by his boldness, and this year his “wing flairs,” which are contour feathers normally appressed to the body. Just under his wings, they appear to have been blow-dried and hair-sprayed because they project out like little flaps. (The camera angle is not ideal for displaying this feature.) There’s a second bird his size that is a little more cautious and I’ve not heard sing, which makes me think it’s a female,. Then there’s Mr. Big, a male who is noticeably bigger than other two, and more vocal. He’ll often arrive with their distinctive “tsk!” call note, and today added full-throated singing while on the feeder (attached video). Perhaps during migration he came upon a musician busking for handouts and thought it might give him an advantage over his competition.
Today he was singing from the canopy just outside our 2nd floor bedroom. I extended a handful of mealworms out that window and he immediately flew in, landed, and took two before departing. This shows their learning capacity, opportunism and flexibility in acquiring food, important abilities for a warbler arriving before insects are out.
Steve Wilson