Black-throated Blue Warbler, Bartram's Garden, Philadelphia

In Albums: birds Philadelphia

May 13th, 2011, by Alex Zorach

This male black-throated blue warbler was foraging in the ornamental garden part of Bartram's garden, in Philadelphia. Bartram's garden is one of the good birding spots in West Philadelphia.

I found black-throated blue warblers to be abundant in the more heavily tree-covered areas of Philadelphia, during spring migration. I usually locate them by their song, a whispy, hollow-sounding song rising in pitch, which can be similar to an untrained ear to the Northern Parula or possibly Prairie warbler. These birds are fairly diverse in terms of where they forage; I've seen them everywhere from the ground to quite high in trees, but they often perch close to eye-level or slightly above, making them relatively easy to view and photograph.