A Nice Morning of Spring Birding

 Earlier this week I hiked the East Coast Trail down to the suspension bridge in La Manche. At this time of the year it is an extremely peaceful place, unlike the action in the swimming hole that will come alive when the weather warms up.

 There are remnants of the old village scattered all around. It seems an interpretation board is needed in this area to enable visitors to better connect with the way it once looked.

There were sounds of spring warblers all along the trail. La Manche offers up regular views of the American Redstart and Black-throated Green Warblers.

Anything seen beyond that is a bonus.

 I was surprised to come upon this female banded Blackpoll. I later learned there was some banding going on in this trail last year. At least one of the banded birds made it back for another year.

 Like all warbler species, there is variation between the male and female Black-throated Green.

 The female shows with less or none of a black throat while the male has a very prominent splotch of black on its neck spreading down onto its breast.

Of course, anywhere I go now, the woods are full of the standard fare: Yellow-rumped Warblers and Yellow Warblers.

 These images show the variation of the male and female of this species.

Likewise with the Yellow Warbler. I included this image of a female Yellow because of its unique differences from a typical female. Note the white eye ring.

This is a great time to get excellent views of the warblers. As you can see, the leaves are just opening and will soon provide cover for these small birds. What a joy to be out!