When I was in Miami last week, I went down to Key Biscayne hoping to get more photos of one of my favourite birds anywhere - the stunning Yellow-throated Warbler Dendroica dominica. As it turned out my camera stopped working after just thirty minutes in the field, and I didn’t actually see a Yellow-throated Warbler anyway. Rather than shout very loudly and then sulk for a bit when it happened (okay, that’s what I did, I admit it), I thought when I got the chance to I’d post some of the photos I took in February this year. I may have been able to get better photos if the camera hadn’t died on me, but to be frank I don’t think I stood much of a chance really - birds like this don’t often give such amazing views…

Yellow-throated Warbler Dendroica dominica
Crandon Park, Key Biscayne, Miami. 11 February 2007

The Yellow-throated Warbler is one of just a few wood-warblers that nest only in the south-east of the US - in fact the breeding range of the Yellow-throated Warbler is more southerly, its wintering range more northerly, and it has a more extensive resident population in the southern United States than most other warblers. (www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds~Yellow-throated_Warbler.html).

According to the online Florida’s Breeding Bird Atlas the Yellow-throated Warbler “is found in the Panhandle and northern peninsula. It is a fairly common, but somewhat local breeder. Florida is represented by two breeding subspecies: D. d. stoddardi in most of the Panhandle; and D. d. dominica of the peninsula (Stevenson 1976). The accuracy of this subspecific designation is uncertain” (For an online paper from 1951 describing of stoddardi go to http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v068n01/p0027-p0029.pdf.) It “is found in sand pine forests or pinelands mixed with mixed cypress or live oak in south Florida and in mixed hardwood and pines in north Florida.”

This stunning bird was photographed in Crandon Park Gardens on Key Biscayne just outside Miami, and responded to pishing with at least ten Yellow-rumped Warblers, ten Palm Warblers, and a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher. It stayed for about three minutes before disappearing - I’ve never been lucky enough to have an individual of this species respond so well, and I’ll treasure these photos for a LONG time…

 

 

 

 

All photos copyright Charlie Moores