I admit, I plagiarized Dellrose's subject line! But I did find 3 new birds in the woods today! I think # 1 might be an American redstart, which if so, is new for me. I have no idea on #2. I think #3 might be a kind of thrush, but none of them seem common in Iowa except the wood thrush and I don't think it's that one.
#1 maybe American redstart
#2, no idea.
#3, maybe a thrush?
I don't know what they are, but it looks like I need to get into the woods!
Here are my guesses:
#1 rufous-sided towhee
#2 eastern phoebe
#3 wood thrush
Thanks Nanegoat! I think that #1 is too small for a towhee. I have an eastern towhee but it's much bigger. This bird was the size of a sparrow but more slender. Quite small. There are a bunch of phoebes around so #2 could be one of those. I am not sure about the wood thrush. It was the only one that lives in Iowa but it looked more rusty colour than the brownish-grey of this bird. I am not an expert though, so who knows. Dellrose's thrush is a grey cheeked, but I don't think they are supposed to be in Iowa. I had another kind of thrush that Resin said was migrating through. Maybe this one is another migratory bird that is just stopping in my woods. You definitely need to go into the woods! It is the place to find the birds right now! At least here in Iowa it is...
#1 could be an American Redstart: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=american+redstart&um=1&ie=UTF-8
Eastern Phoebe: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=eastern+phoebe&um=1&ie=UTF-8
#3 looks like it could be a thrush of some sort. Here's images of the wood thrush: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=wood+thrush&um=1&ie=UTF-8
#1 I fear is best left unidentified from this pic; it doesn't (on this pic) fully match American Redstart, as it at least appears to have a white (not red) wing patch and a largely white or whitish (not red & black) tail. It could just be photographic burn-out in the bright light though.
#2 looks to me more warbler-shaped than flycatcher-shaped, note in particular the rounded (not peaked) head; best fit is then female Blackpoll Warbler (tho' the leg colour doesn't fit well). But I could be wrong. Any other pics of it, and how was it behaving?
#3 is one of the Catharus thrushes; not Wood Thrush, as that is much more rufous, and more boldly spotted on the breast. Choice between Swainson's, Gray-cheeked and Hermit; it isn't possible to tell which from this pic.
Resin
Resin, I love your above post, it's a good example of what you look for in IDing these birds.
CMoxon: Here's some images of different Warbler's: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=images+of+warblers&um=1&ie=UTF-8one looks a lot like your little bird!
Here is another photo of bird #1. I took several.
and yet another pic of bird #1.
Here is another pic of bird #2 (possible warbler).
She was fairly high up in the trees, seemed fairly timid, but not as timid and flighty as bird #1. The thrush was the least flighty of the 3. I think bird #2 had a short but melodious call. I was not sure it was her though - there were a lot of birds about!
Final pic of bird #2 - just her bottom end I'm afraid! A bit rude of me!
I didn't manage to get a 2nd pic of the thrush. Will have to look another day!
Thanks!
Bird #1 is definitely American Redstart.
Bird #2 is definitely a warbler, and the 'rude' pic is very useful as it shows the undertail pattern with white oval spots, which no flycatcher has. The shape of the white spots, combined with the small amount of yellow on the flanks visible in the two new pics, also identify it as female Yellow-rumped Warbler (not Blackpoll after all).
Resin
Super! Thanks Resin! And to think I'd already put those pictures in the recycling bin! Glad I hadn't emptied it! Interestingly, that means the y-r warbler has been around for about 3 weeks now. The Nat Geo guide (3rd Ed) doesn't show it as an Iowa resident, even in summer. Does Sibley show it here? I wonder if it will stick around. It has been around for a while if it's just migrating...
Always worth keeping pics!
Sibley shows Y-rW as a passage visitor in IA. Female birds (of almost all migratory species) tend to move north a week or two later than males, so it's not too surprising for some to still be around. Y-rW breeds right up to the arctic tree line in Canada, and if you look on the weather maps*, it's still snow-covered up there - so they'll want to hold back on migrating a little while yet!
* http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims_gif/ARCHIVE/USA/2008/ims2008133_usa.gif
Resin
Interesting - I shall have to keep an eye out for them. My parents (UK-Canadians) will be migrating south later this week, so I hope the Y-rW will stick around for them to see! The male is still here also - I saw him yesterday but didn't photograph since I know him well enough now to recognize. Thanks for the link and IDs!
