This Golden-winged Warbler was photographed two days ago in Duluth by birder Will Stenberg. He found it in his yard. The bird most certainly was a migrant, a bright and early sign of fall. Birds already are on the move out of breeding habitat, heading south. Fall migration is always slow, unlike spring when breeding dictates haste. Birds will be dribbling through the Twin Cities into October. We had a small dribble yesterday in our Orono yard. We watched a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher picking insects from the leaves of a large maple tree. It and several chickadees, most likely locals, were working high over our heads, always darting, never still. There might have been a warbler in there, too, but we couldn't ID it. The gnatcatcher could have been a local nester, although we almost never see one here. They breed from Kanabec County, north of the Twin Cities, down a wide swath of the state along the Mississippi River, and along the southern portions of the Minnesota River.
Most Read
-
2024 winning flowers for your garden and containers
-
Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck lists 'resort-style' Edina home for $3.9 million
-
Plant sales: A perennial favorite for great bargains and great gardening advice
-
Beautiful Gardens winner creates vibrant English cottage garden in south Minneapolis
-
Will arborvitae trees or other evergreens, grow in the shade?