Be damned. I think I just got a lifer glancing out the window–caught a flash of yellow, thought it didn’t look right for a goldfinch, and managed to catch a good long look at it in the undergrowth along the road–female hooded warbler, doing the little tail fan thing.
I hope her presence means there’s a breeding male in the area, since that’s a MUCH showier bird (the females are quite drab and generic, and if she hadn’t done the tail dance, it would have taken a lot longer to narrow it down.) but while this is actually pretty prime habitat for them–shady undergrowth in a well-grown deciduous forest–it’s the first time I’m seen one, and I suspect she’s probably just passing through.
Originally published at Squash's Garden. You can comment here or there.