When I see the first yellow-rumped warbler of the season, my heart soars.
The 5-inch-long bird with yellow on its rump tells me I’m about to encounter another May full of colorful little songbirds called warblers that fly thousands of miles from the South to breed in the North in spring.
If you’re a beginning birder, identifying the roughly 35 to 40 warbler species that come through the region can be overwhelming.
There’s one that’s yellow with blue wings. Another has black and white stripes like a zebra. Another is black and red and fans its tail like a butterfly. Another is bright yellow with a smooth, contrasting black hood around its head. And on and on.
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They’re typically about 5 to 7 inches in length and flit around trees and shrubs, grabbing caterpillars and other delicacies from beneath and atop the leaves. As such, they are not that easy to see, and when they are at the top of oak trees, next to impossible.
But don’t let that dissuade you. I encourage you to get out this May and find some warblers. If you have any vegetation in your yard, you’ll likely see a few colorful sprites that spend evenings high in the sky migrating beneath the stars before landing on a tree or shrub. Some of them pass through; others remain to nest in Illinois in summer. In spring, the males wear their most brilliant colors.
Get out your binoculars, go outside and look for the yellow-rumped warbler, which is certainly flitting around right now, perhaps in multiple numbers in your yard and natural areas. Its yellow rump is prominent, and some folks call it the “butter butt.”
At times, I’ve walked along the Des Plaines River at Ryerson Conservation Area in late April and early May and seen myriad yellow-rumps plying vegetation high and low, looking for food to sustain them on their journey. Enjoy the mixture of black, blue and yellow hues on the male. As with some of the other warbler species, the females are duller, but the female yellow-rumped still has a butter-colored butt.
Yellow-rumps, as birders call them, have been seen migrating through northern Illinois even in April and late March.
There are two more species you might want to learn as a beginning warbler watcher this spring. The first has to do with its song. Male warblers, like other songbirds, sing vociferously in spring. They’re defending feeding territory and wooing mates even when they’re not yet on their breeding grounds.
Some warblers have easily identifiable songs; others don’t. The one to listen for that’s common in spring in woodlands is the black-throated green warbler. This species, which spends its time high in the trees, sings a consistent, high-pitched buzzy “Zoo-zee-zoo-zoo-zeeeee.” Some hear it singing, “Cheese, cheese, cheddar cheese.”
Point your binoculars to where you hear it singing, and you might glimpse its greenish back and blackish throat. Here’s a link to a picture of the bird and its song, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tx5eQRLv-Ac
Black-throated green warblers arrive a bit later than yellow-rumped warblers, but by early to mid-May, they’re quite abundant and singing loudly in northern Illinois.
Sometimes all I need to do is hear the black-throated green warbler sing and all is right with the world.
There’s one more species I hope you get to see this season that arrives a little later than the yellow-rumps. It’s called the American redstart.
Roger Tory Peterson, who brought bird identification to the masses with his field guides, called the redstart the butterfly of the bird world. In mid to late May, they seem to be almost as common as the yellow-rumps were earlier. But that’s likely because they are so showy and will come down to eye level for your viewing pleasure.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes the male redstart as being “coal black with vivid orange patches on the sides, wings, and tail.” Females have gray and yellow plumage.
It flashes its tail and wing feathers to startle insects out of the vegetation. When you see a redstart fan its tail, you’ll be impressed. Not nearly as exciting as it looks is its short and somewhat jumbled song with a little flick on the end.
There are many online guides and apps, as well as books, to learn to identify birds, including warblers. Many can be confusing for beginners, but here’s one you might want to check: https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/999
Some birders will disagree with me on which species beginners should seek, but that’s OK. These are just my suggestions. After all, there’s also the palm warbler that constantly pumps its tail, and the blue-winged warbler that sings as if it’s giving you the raspberries. And there’s the black-and-white warbler, which I mentioned above, that looks like a miniature zebra.
So many warblers, so little time.
I hope that if you’re reading this column and have never seen a warbler before, you’ll look for at least one of these little Tinkerbells inviting you into a fourth dimension this season. Also, check local bird clubs online for free spring bird walks where seasoned birders can help you find and identify that elusive warbler.
Sheryl DeVore has worked as a full-time and freelance reporter, editor and photographer for the baiduhai and its subsidiaries. She’s the author of several books on nature and the environment and co-author of a coming book on “Birds of the Midwest,” to be published by Timber Press. Send story ideas and thoughts to [email protected].