![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/NashvilleWarblerPerchedNearGoldenrodonNaturalCrooksDotCom.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDark-eyed Juncos Wearing Grey, Black, Brown and White Plumes Lighten the Morning Mood<\/h2>\n
Although Juncos aren\u2019t particularly colourful, their personalities shine even on a frosty morning. They flit from tree to grass, flashing white tail Vs and white fronts. Their pink-ish bills seem unlikely on otherwise sombre-coloured birds. When they find leaves, they kick them aside with an amusing nonchalance. I enjoyed seeing them and taking a few photos where I didn\u2019t have to try to compensate for the unforgiving glare from fresh snow.<\/p>\n A much browner bird among the Juncos quickly identified itself by making the two simple calls I hear when a flock of White-throated Sparrows are moving through dense cover. To prove it, one sparrow turned to face me to show off the distinctive white throat with dark lines. These birds also have a small yellow mark near their eyes which can be helpful when trying to identify which sparrow I\u2019ve spotted through thick cover.<\/p>\n In the spring, many birders complain of a stiff neck, the side effect o staring up into the tops of trees to identify migrating warblers. This warbler, though, popped up, not down, for a snack. So what I saw was a tall stalk of goldenrod, mostly in seed, shiver and shake as something worried it from below, then \u201czing\u201d up sprang a bird on top of the seed head. This bird\u2019s front was the colour of a summer sun and it seemed twice as vivid against the dull taupe and grey of spent goldenrod.<\/p>\n I got briefly confused when I saw the bird because it tipped its head towards me and I could see a muddled colour on top of its head. There\u2019s another late-to-move-through warbler called an Orange \u2013Crowned Warbler that can have murky head markings.<\/p>\n Another birder explained to me that I didn\u2019t need to look for such a vague field mark, though. Instead, I should look at the eyes. Nashville Warblers have a clear light-coloured eye ring. Orange-crowned Warblers don\u2019t. My warbler had the eye ring, so it was a Nashville.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll admit I was a tiny bit disappointed as I have seen several Nashvilles and only one Orange-crowned. Still, when I saw the Nashville turn and flash a vivid chest of yellow at me, I quickly overcame my miff.<\/p>\n The Nashville I was watching was happily hunting through the Goldenrod blossom and seed heads. It was mostly snatching up prey from the undersides of the plumes and it would stretch into some odd poses to reach anything that caught its eye. Judging by the times I saw it stop to swallow, it was having a successful morning.<\/p>\n Later on that morning, the warming sun melted away the frost, but the memory of the Nashville in the silvery gloom is still bright in my mind\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n Join In<\/strong> A flash of brilliant yellow is welcome on a dull taupe and grey morning. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,11],"tags":[217,355,220],"class_list":["post-4091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-focus","category-rambles","tag-dark-eyed-junco","tag-nashville-warbler","tag-white-throated-sparrow"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4091"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4100,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091\/revisions\/4100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\nFeisty White-throated Sparrows Tzzz and Chirp<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nA Flash of Lemon Yellow Surprises and Delights as a Nashville Warbler Pops Up<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWas It a Nashville Warbler or Golden-crowned Warbler?<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nLate Migrating Nashville Warblers Like to Hunt in the Goldenrod<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\nHave you seen any warblers in your local goldenrod patch? Please share your sighting with a comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"