On this cloudy, mild evening along the Colorado Front Range, I noticed a small bird flitting about a grove of small trees in the "wild corner" of. our Littleton farm. Initially assuming it was a house wren, I zeroed in with my binoculars to discover that it was a male Wilson's warbler, easily identified by his black cap, contrasting with bright yellow plumage.
Having wintered in the Tropics, Wilson's warblers nest across Alaska and Canada and southward through the mountain ranges of the West. Fairly common migrants along the Front Range urban corridor, they head to higher elevations (generally above 10,000 feet) to nest along the shores of alpine lakes or in willow thickets along mountain streams; indeed, they are one of the more common songbirds found near timberline.
Like many humans, these small insectivores apparently like seasonal change, escaping the hot, humid environment of their "winter" to summer and breed in chilly landscapes of the far north or higher mountains. One must admire their audacity!
Having wintered in the Tropics, Wilson's warblers nest across Alaska and Canada and southward through the mountain ranges of the West. Fairly common migrants along the Front Range urban corridor, they head to higher elevations (generally above 10,000 feet) to nest along the shores of alpine lakes or in willow thickets along mountain streams; indeed, they are one of the more common songbirds found near timberline.
Like many humans, these small insectivores apparently like seasonal change, escaping the hot, humid environment of their "winter" to summer and breed in chilly landscapes of the far north or higher mountains. One must admire their audacity!
