Beautiful Warblers show up at the Dry Tortugas

This week at the Dry Tortugas National Park, our birdwatching activities have continued to satisfy our visitors. The weather has cooperated nicely at Fort Jefferson Florida, affording our birders a most pleasant experience. Boasting as one of North America's principal birdwatching hot spots during Spring migration, the Dry Tortugas has yet to disappoint its visitors. Even with the end of Spring upon us, we are still fascinated by the multitude of different species seen in a single day.

Our favorite bird sighting this week is the Yellow Warbler. The late warblers arrived just in time to delight our birdwatchers. While North America has over 50 different species of warblers, few are as brightly colored and offer such easy viewing as the Yellow Warbler. Most of these warblers reveal some yellow in their plumage, but the befittingly named Yellow Warbler has by far the most brilliant yellow which covers most of the bird. Their upper parts have a slight greenish tinge, and their tails are greenish yellow. Their faces and heads are simple, unadorned, and without streaks or lines. The males have reddish markings down their bellies and breasts. While the females are yellow as well, they are not nearly as bright as males and lack the reddish streaks. These little guys are quite adaptable and will frequent most types of environment, but favor riparian surroundings, open forests, gardens, and orchards.

The female warbler takes about four days to build her nest. She begins by building a cup filled with plants, such as nettles, bark strips, and grasses. Around the outside, she places spiderwebs, plant, and plant fibers. The inner cup is lined with feathers, deer hair, cottonwood fibers, willow, cattail seeds, and dandelion. If by chance a cowbird deposits its eggs in the warbler's nest, she usually starts building a new nest right on top of the old nest, completely deserting both her own eggs and the cowbird's. Their nest is normally within about ten feet of the ground but sometimes can go up to about 40 feet. Yellow Warblers are very energetic and active foragers who prey on insects from leaves on brush or at mid-levels of trees.

Since these warblers can become pretty tame and show little fear of humans, they often allow birdwatchers breathtaking views. The Dry Tortugas have always been known for their fascinating richness in seabird colonies and migrating land birds, as can be seen by the plentiful amount of the different species that congregate there. The Dry Tortugas' seven tiny islands are an essential layover for these warblers that travel between the United States and South America, making a staple in the Great Florida Birding Trail.

For a chance to see the beautiful Yellow Warbler, visit Fort Jefferson Florida and try your hand at birdwatching. You will be glad you did; the experience is priceless. Happy birding!