On Thu, 20 Jun 1996 steppie at wolfenet.com wrote:

> One of the problems with OCWa's is that they cease active singing rather
> early in the breeding season. I contend the brushy habitats are "crawling
> with this species"... but they are only occasional singers after say 20-25
> May. A breeding bird census of any eastside forest ecosystem in June is
> going to miss many Orange-crowned Warblers.
> Andy Stepniewski
> Wapato WA

I have been told that OCWA stop singing when they start the business of
nesting in WA. However, my work at McChord AFB shows the opposite to be
true. Just today I recorded singing OCWA on at least 5 of the 12 point
counts that I conducted. Also, of the 4 OCWA nest that I am monitoring, a
male (mate) can be heard singing on territory, while the female incubates
or feeds the young (I have yet to determine if males do any of the
feeding of the young). One of the nest, as of today, still has eggs, 2
cowbird and 1 warbler. It is interesting to note that Cowbirds are not as
succesful as I thought they would be on base. Of the nest that I have been
monitoring in which I can see the contents, very few, 10% tops, have
cowbird eggs. This OCWA nest (nest 067) is the only one that I know of
with two. This is the second attempt by this female (as best as I can
tell). The first nest was abandoned when a cowbird laid an egg in it. Go
figure.

I would question the theory that OCWA stop singing when the nesting
begins. IMO, if they are not singing in a area where they are thought to
be nesting, they probably are not nesting.

Russell

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Russell Rogers
4510 Glenn Way SW
Seattle, WA 98116
(206) 935-6280
rrogers at halcyon.com
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