Yellow-throated Warbler

Hey guys welcome back! Today’s bird is one that I first saw in NYC, which is actually out of this bird’s natural range. The yellow-throated warbler is a small wood-warbler that behaves much like a creeper or nuthatch. They are almost entirely black and white, with the exception of a bright yellow throat. This is also the bird that introduced me to the frenzy that is birders when a rare bird is spotted.

As mentioned, NYC is outside this bird’s range. The yellow-throated warbler has one of the furthest south breeding ranges of any warbler, extending to just north of central Ohio, kind of around Akron if you know where that is. Their winter range is also one of the more northerly of any warbler, and they can be seen year round in parts of Florida and the southeast. Right after I started really birding, I just happened to be in the Ramble in Central Park when one was spotted. I looked up and there it was. I had no clue at that time that they only rarely made it that far north. A couple minutes later, quite a number of birders flocked (pun intended) to the spot as word had gotten out that the bird was present. I had never experienced such a frenzy. Ironically a couple of years later, I spotted one in the park and was able to put the word out myself via the rare bird alert twitter and soon had birders flocking to me!

In St. Louis, I saw them on a somewhat regular basis last spring, as St.Louis was well within their range. I have yet to see one in Ohio, as I do live just north of their range, but they do on occasion make it to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the nearby Brecksville Reservation where I work part time, so who knows, maybe this spring I’ll get to add one to my Ohio list! Yellow-throated warblers also shouldn’t be confused with the common yellowthroat which is also a warbler. Though similar in name, the two look nothing alike, and in more northern parts of the country where the yellow-throateds are less common, mixing up the names might just cause a frenzy over nothing! Next up is another warbler. This one is one of my favs, the Canada Warbler. See you all then!