ML573608121

Observation details

Continuing male. Found earlier this morning by a group of bird surveyors. I arrived with Brian and Diana O’Kelly on the south end of the Preserve. We entered and walked to the small lagoon after saying hi to some birders. Jay Carroll was at the east end of the small lagoon. We decided to continue past, thinking the bird might be toward the area with the duck blind. While slowly making our way, Diana, who was running the Merlin App, indicated that one of the bazillion junco trills we were hearing could possibly be our target bird. I finally heard the rising trill coming from eucs along the southern edge of the boardwalk about 40-50 yards east of the bird blind. The trill came every few seconds and got fairly loud by the time we zeroed in on the area. Soon, Jay Carroll and Jim Royer joined us. After about five or so minutes, maybe longer, of scanning trees, and following the sound’s movement westward, I spotted the bird in a euc about fifteen feet off the ground. The bird was tiny, even for a warbler, had a white undertail and belly, yellow breast—the top of which bled into orange—and two orange/rufous spots just below the colorful chest patch on either side, indicators that this was a male. It had two white wingbars, a grey head with bright white broken eyerings, yellow throat and dark grey neck band. Its lower mandible blended nicely with its bright throat. On its back was a lime green patch. The bird often sang its trilly, rising song, but also foraged quite a bit and ended up in an oak for a while foraging much lower. It was soon back in the euc, and by the time we were leaving the bird foraged in a cyprus (near the little gravel loop) amid the mossy lichen-algae, and then in foliage back toward the bird blind but this time on the north side of the boardwalk. Photos. Vid (18 secs): https://twitter.com/nickbelardes/status/1658923866004271104?s=20