Early Warblers and Broad-winged Hawks Arriving ~ April 18, 2025

Yesterday, Adam and Owen Smith birded the Delaware Canal near Raubsville and found a Northern Parula, a Pine Warbler, and a Yellow-throated Warbler. I took a morning walk along there this morning and found 2 Yellow-throated Warblers, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Northern Parula, and one Palm Warbler. Yellow-throated Warblers are notorious for being way at the top of sycamore trees, and I did see one up there in the still-bare trees. Luckily, the other one was found feeding about mid-level in the more heavily-budded trees where I was able to get some nice photos of it.

Yellow-throated Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

A kettle of 11 Broad-winged Hawks were also seen struggling to gain altitude over the canal.

Adult Broad-winged Hawks.

Other birds noted during the walk included 3 Wood Ducks, 2 Common Mergansers, 2 Pileated Woodpeckers, 3 Eastern Phoebes, 8 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, and 4 American Goldfinches.

I called Arlene Koch and got permission to stop and bird her nearby property. There was nothing real notable there other than several Northern Flickers, a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, many of the White-throated Sparrows now sporting their bright yellow lores and crisp, white stripes and throat patch, and an aberrant House Finch.

White-throated Sparrow

The plumage on this House Finch was colored fairly similar to a Purple Finch. The head pattern matched House Finch, but it had pinkish-red feathering extending all the way through the belly and lacked almost all of the brownish streaking underneath.

An aberrant House Finch.

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