Cape May Warbler with a decurved bill! ~ September 30, 2021

During a walk through the Woodland Hills Preserve, I spotted and zeroed in on a warbler working a spruce tree. The yellow neck patch and other markings told me it was a Cape May Warbler, but then I noticed the bill. It wasn't straight and short. It was pretty long and curved downward! I tried to get as many photos of it as I could before it headed off to another area and out of sight. When I got home, I checked out the photos and discovered that the bill was definitely curved downward and about half-again as long as it should have been. The upper mandible appeared to be just a little longer than the lower one. I picked out the photos that most noticeably show this odd-shaped bill. I also sent the photos along with a submission to the Alaska Science Center, which keeps records and photos of birds with deformed or unnatural bills. If interested, here's the link to their Beak Deformities page.

The other surprise of the day was a young Red-headed Woodpecker on a large snag. The head showed a hint of red that surrounded the back of the eye.

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