This lovely warbler stopped by my pool the other day. I think it is an immature Palm Warbler. It’s searching for insects near a Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum). Your help in confirming the i.d. would be appreciated. (Click on any photo in the gallery, and when it is displayed alone, click it again to enlarge the photo.)
Please excuse the haziness of the photos. They were taken through a dirty kitchen window.
Yes, we had palm warblers in our yard as well.
Mariette Nowak, author of Birdscaping in the Midwest sent the following comment:
I can see this definitely was a Palm Warbler in several photos, and it does have that cap above the yellow streak above the eye in several photos.
Palm Warblers often feed on the ground and have yellow under their tails and light streaks on their sides. One of the most distinctive behaviors is pumping its tail up and down. From some of the photos, it looks as if its tail was up, as if it had been pumping. If you saw that, it’s an excellent clue to identification of this warbler. Regarding the distinctive yellow streak above its eyes, in fall and winter, the streak can be beige instead of yellow, but is nonetheless distinct.