Subject: [Tweeters] Orange-crowned Warbler - Roy, WA
Date: Mon Jan 25 18:34:53 PST 2021
From: Denis DeSilvis - avnacrs4birds at outlook.com

Tweeters,
I glanced outside at 14:50 today at a suet feeder just behind the house (less than 30 feet from the window) and spotted a small bird snagging suet. Because the bird was relatively small, my initial impression was "Ruby-crowned Kinglet," (we have those quite often) but it was larger than that, had no wingbars, was yellow-greenish overall, with the back darker than the underside. (We have Yellow-rumped Warblers wintering here, but this bird definitely wasn't that species.) It dropped to the rose bush below the feeder, then came back to the suet, and fed there about 15 seconds before a Dark-eyed Junco (larger bird than this) popped up to the feeder and spooked this bird off. My second thought after the kinglet was "ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER," and I believe that this bird was of that species. No other species would come to mind, except, perhaps, a female Yellow Warbler, but that's really not the overall impression I got, given the coloration, time of year, etc.

I've not had Orange-crowned Warblers ever in winter here, and especially feeding on suet even at other times of the year. Given that Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Song Sparrows (among the smaller birds) feed at this feeder from October to May, it's a feeding magnet at times.

I'll be looking for this bird over the next couple of weeks, and will attempt to grab a photo of it if I have a chance.

May all your birds be identified,

Denis DeSilvis
avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com

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