Yellow-throated Warbler. Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren
Most of the waterfowl have vacated Goose Pond except for nesting ducks, a dozen Canada Geese including one pair with five goslings, and three healthy Trumpeter Swans. They’ve been replaced by a diversity of shorebirds including uncommon critters such as the Baird’s Sandpiper, American Golden-Plover, and Black-necked Stilt. Warblers are back in full force, including many Yellow Warblers and our familiar friends, the witchety-witcheties (Common Yellowthroats), which have been arriving over the past week.
Calla Norris reported the first ever Yellow-throated Warbler (State Endangered and 23rd warbler on the Goose Pond Bird Checklist) at Goose Pond on April 21 at the Prairie Lane residence. This is the 271 species on the Goose Pond Bird Checklist.
The Yellow-throated Warbler seen at the Goose Pond Sanctuary Prairie Lane residence this spring. Photo by Graham Steinhauer
This is a rare species for our area, with the main body of its range to the south of us. Since April 21, the same individual has been reported 22 times at Goose Pond, mostly foraging in the picked corn field south of the east pond along the Goose Pond Road causeway. Many people found the individual here feeding with other warblers including Yellow, Yellow-rumped, and Palm Warblers. It is unusual to find a forest warbler feeding in cropland.
Yellow-throated Warbler populations are either stable or increasing, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says that this species is expanding its range northward into southern Michigan and northern Ohio. The cause of this is unspecified. Yellow-throated Warblers populations increased by 50% between 1966 and 2014, according to Partners in Flight. Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population at 2 million.
There were only nine records of this species in Wisconsin through 1970, but many have been reported since then with at least a dozen individuals observed this year alone. The WI Breeding Bird Atlas I (1995-2000) lists four breeding records, but three of those were probably “migratory overshots” (see the image below). The fourth breeding record was listed as “probable” at Wyalusing State Park. Two nests were confirmed at Wyalusing during the Breeding Bird Atlas II (2015-2020) with several more probable or possible reports in that area and south down the Mississippi River (see second image below). These are reasonable breeding locations as Yellow-throated Warblers prefer river bottoms or upland stands of pine for nesting.
The Wisconsin Birding Bird Atlas I (1995-2000) map for Yellow-throated Warbler nests.
The Wisconsin Birding Bird Atlas II (2015-2020) map for Yellow-throated Warbler nests. Courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Map legend
The warbler at Goose Pond was last seen by Calla and I at the Prairie Lane residence eating our sunflower seeds on May 5. The next one might be reported tomorrow or many years from now. In either case, we felt fortunate to see the cute little fellow right out of our window for a couple of short weeks.
Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond Land Steward
