(I’m pausing for a few days from my recent Baja trip posts, so that I can get some more images edited and posts prepared. So please enjoy this post, which originally published in November, 2010)
When I finished one of my recent kayak outings, I pulled the kayak from the water and hauled it over my shoulder, back to the parking lot. I loaded the kayak into the back of the truck and the rest of my gear was placed in the cab. Once I settled into the cab, I looked over and saw a group of Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata) flying about in the shrubs that lined the parking lot. Upon closer examination, I observed them picking seeds and berries from the shrubs and grasses, and gulping them down:
Then, one became two:
I have been seeing a lot of the Yellow-rumped Warblers from the kayak, watching them flit about from tree to tree, hunting insects. But the cooler, fall temperatures have eliminated the insects from their diet and they are now working on the remaining seeds/berries. Before long, they will likely be only a memory … until they return in spring (may get lucky over winter, as the northern boundary of their wintering range is very close to us)!