May is gone, and so are the warblers. When the cold and the rain went, so did they. Time, then, for a summary of what the season brought. The first warbler (a black-and-white) appeared on the 27th of April, and from then until the 23rd of May, I saw warblers nearly every day. I logged 12 or so species, as follows (and some are a bit doubtful, based on a quick sighting, or a murky photo):
Black-and-white: 8 individuals
Black-throated blue?: 1
Black-throated green: 2?
Common yellowthroat: 7
Magnolia: 12+
Mourning?: 1
Northern parula: 8-10
Northern waterthrush: 1
Ovenbird: 2
Wilson's: 1
Yellow: 2
The magnolias were the big winners, but northern parulas were also notable this year, as were black-and-whites. Last year I saw some species that I didn't see this year (American redstart, blackpoll), but overall this year, I saw a lot more species than last year -- which, to an extent, reflects increased attention on my part.
But the warblers were only a part of the migratory picture. We also had thrushes, native sparrows, vireos, catbirds, swifts, flycatchers, hummingbirds, woodpeckers and phoebes -- two dozen or so species that came, and for the most part, went. The catbirds are still here, as are the swifts -- and, of course, robins by the thousands.
In the end, this small number of left-behinds reminds us of the basic poverty of bird habitat in Somerville. And with the migrants gone, we're left with the same dozen-odd species that are so familiar to us here year-round -- the Villens, you might say, of the avian world.
