While leading my Beginning Birds class on a spring field trip at the Dungeness Recreation Area, I heard a familiar voice saying "witch-i-ty, witch-i-ty, witch-i-ty." The singer, a male warbler named common yellowthroat, was hidden in low brambles. Suddenly he emerged, flew out and around, landing in a tree directly behind us. He sat looking directly at our group, giving us a great view of his black face mask and bright yellow underparts. After a minute or so, having checked us out to his satisfaction, he retraced his flight path and disappeared back into the brambles. Our highlight bird encounter of the day.



Sight and song

Male warblers catch the fancy of many birders this time of year, with their attractive breeding plumage and distinctive voices. As I tell my class, there's good news and bad news about warblers.

The bad news is that only eight species of warblers are fairly common here, compared to several dozen in the eastern U.S.

That's also the good news. Instead of being overwhelmed in the field, inexperienced birders have a realistic chance of identifying a few warblers.

Aptly named yellow-rumped warblers, the most abundant warbler species in the U.S., stop over in flocks of 60 to 100 or more during northbound spring migration.



A mixed bunch

But they don't all look the same, as a few yellow-rumps with white throats (myrtle subspecies) typically are mixed in with the more common yellow-throated (Audubon) subspecies. For the visually challenged, the two subspecies also have different voices.

Two locally nesting male warblers are mostly bright yellow. Wilson's warblers, with black head caps and beady black eyes, usually stay low to the ground, like yellowthroats. We routinely hear them on our Wednesday morning bird walks this time of year.

Yellow warblers, with vertical red streaking below their throats, are picky about their habitat. They prefer willow trees along the Dungeness River. One prime spot is along Towne Road about a quarter-mile from the Old Dungeness Schoolhouse.



Lusty song

Male orange-crowned warblers sing lustily to attract mates and declare territory. We locate them largely by voice, as their drab yellow-green feathers blend in with emerging leaves on deciduous trees. Once they have eggs in nests, they grow quiet so as not to attract predators.

Townsend's and black-throated gray warblers are common on our Wednesday walks in spring. They are mostly tree-top birds and can be difficult to spot. Male Townsend's have black and yellow head striping. Black-throated grays usually are identified by their rising buzzy song.

We've even had gray-headed MacGillivray's warblers on our Wednesday walks, although their preferred local habitat is brushy open areas in the foothills above Sequim.



Early ornithologists

Wilson, Townsend and MacGillivray were among the early ornithologists and naturalists who ultimately had a bird named for them.

J.K. Townsend also was first to describe a gray-headed warbler he named for ornithologist Dr. W.T. Tolmie, Esq.

John J. Audubon, however, ruffled some feathers by breaking with accepted protocol. In his landmark book "Birds of North America," he renamed the bird for ornithologist Dr. W. MacGillivray.

The underlying tension remains today, as the MacGillivray's warbler's scientific name remains oporornix tolmiei, and the Spanish name for it is Verdin (warbler) de Tolmie.

Twelve other warblers appear on our local checklist, having been seen locally some time or other in the past. From a birder's perspective, each new warbler is a potential rarity until it is identified.



Strange sighting

When I was new here, I reported a strange sighting to Bob Boekelheide, director of the Dungeness River Audubon Center, and our local bird expert.

In nearby foothills, I had seen a warbler with the body of a Townsend's warbler and the head of a hermit warbler.

Bob immediately identified it as a hybrid between the two species (see photo) and he showed me its picture in the National Geographic field guide.

These hybrids are fairly common on Mount Walker. Only recently has someone reported seeing the opposite hybrid locally - a bird with the head of a Townsend's warbler and the body of a hermit warbler.

So stay alert and examine each warbler carefully. Maybe you will turn up another anomaly among our warblers.

Dave Jackson is series editor and Web master. Send comments to him at editor@olybird.org or 683-1355.

Olympic Peninsula Audubon meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 19, at the Dungeness River Audubon Center. Details of Spring Fling and field trips are at Web site www.olybird.org.



Winging to Web

Northwest Raptor Center in Sequim has a new Web site, www.nwraptor center.com/.

The nonprofit center's director Jaye Moore has been rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing wildlife on the Olympic Peninsula for 20-plus years.

The site has news, events, photos, videos and a link to become a fan on Facebook. The center relies on donations and support of volunteers.

Especially during the breeding season, Moore and her volunteers rescue injured and orphaned bald eagles, falcons, owls and hawks. They rehabilitate and release them, if possible. The nonreleasable raptors are used in educational demonstrations throughout the peninsula.

The Northwest Raptor Center, 1051 Oak Court, Sequim, may be visited by appointment only by calling 681-2283.