Western warblers finally arriving!

I have been spending the past couple weeks recieving text alerts from back home in PA and reading posts on the PABIRDS listserve that have been filled with reports of all the warblers swarming through eastern forests right now and I have been feeling a little left out, since migration is a little behind here in Idaho and up until last week we just had Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned Warblers around (Although, the western subspecies of the Yellow-rumped called the Audubon’s Warbler, spices things up a bit). But then, we started seeing a few Nashville Warblers mixed into the bunch, and then more and more. Then Yellow Warblers began showing up, and then yesterday Anna and I saw our lifer Townsend’s Warbler! This morning I found my first Idaho Yellow-breasted Chat climbing through some riparian-shrubs behind our trailor. So, still not as many species as back in the east, but at least enough to keep me excited, plus we still have another warbler lifer, the MacGillivray’s Warbler to look forward to finding. So far the best places to find warblers for Anna and I have been Discovery Park and Foote Park, two small parks across the Boise River from each other, nestled into the rolling sagebrush-covered hills. This parks contain riparian areas with some taller trees that the warblers and other passerines seem to love. Below are photos of some of the warbler species we have seen so far.

Townsend's Warbler - adult male (photo by Alex Lamoreaux)

Yellow Warbler - adult male (photo by Alex Lamoreaux)

Nashville Warbler - adult male (photo by Alex Lamoreaux)

'Audubon's' Yellow-rumped Warbler - adult male (photo by Anna Fasoli)