Phantasmagoria of Warblers at Fontenelle Forest Environs

There was a wonderful phantasmagoria of warbler species about the woods and wetlands of Fontenelle Forest on May 14, 2011. They were singing among the arboreal splendor of the uplands, skulking about the floodplain and deep in the swamp of Hidden Lake, along the swollen Missouri River.

It took the efforts of several people to determine their actual extent.

A group of four birders noted 22 species, during the Sarpy County Spring Count, walking the south uplands and north floodplain for hours during the day. Then as the evening crept forth, two of this bunch traversed the flooded lands of the south wetland to search out the Prothonotary Warbler. It was the final species that was added to the day's tally.

The Hooded Warbler - observed by another member of the count crew, Cerulean Warbler and Blue-winged Warbler were also noted by other birders during the day.

Overall, there was a phenomenal 26 species of warblers noted for the day in the immediate vicinity.

This is probably the greatest number of warbler species seen on a single day in the history of Nebraska ornithology.

Warbler Splendor

The forest environs have always been a haven for a variety of warblers during spring migration.

The first known species of warbler seen in the recent historic period was a Black-and-white Warbler noted on 16 June 1895 at what was then called Childs Point. In 1896, the bird chronicles note the presence of a Blue-winged Warbler.

A species list from 1900, lists 18 species of warbler known for this locality.

The place's warblerian history continued henceforth from that era when observational ornithology was just really getting started. There are few records readily available to consider from that time. Starting in about 1977, the observations on record became more prevalent and regular, and are extremely useful in indicating the number of warblers noted on a particular date at Fontenelle Forest. These records indicate particular instances when a fine number of warblers were observed.

11 May 1918 - 17 species

8 May 1983 - 16 species

15 May 1983 - 16 species

10 May 2008 - 20

14 May 2008 - 20

16 May 2008 - 17

14 May 2009 - 16

8 May 2010 - 16

9 May 2011 - 15

13 May 2011 - 18

14 May 2011 - 26

It's readily obvious that mid-May is the time to be looking for warblers in the vicinity.

Based upon a composite evaluation of known warbler records for the Fontenelle Forest area, there have been 35 species noted for the seven day period around May 14, as shown in the following table. The values indicate the number of instances when a particular species was noted on a particular Julian date, which is used to standardize a date of occurrence in different years. This table is compiled from more than 5000 warbler records for the Childs Point - Gifford Point - Fontenelle Forest - region, extending back to the early years of the 1890s.

Common Name	131	132	133	134	135	136	137
Blue-winged Warbler	2	2	-	1	-	-	1
Golden-winged Warbler	5	1	4	3	2	-	1
Tennessee Warbler	19	12	11	18	12	6	6
Orange-crowned Warbler	14	7	7	7	5	4	3
Nashville Warbler	15	10	7	11	8	4	2
Northern Parula	11	8	6	10	7	4	3
Yellow Warbler	15	9	8	16	12	7	2
Chestnut-sided Warbler	5	4	7	6	5	3	2
Magnolia Warbler	3	4	2	2	3	-	3
Cape May Warbler	-	1	1	-	-	-	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Yellow-rumped Warbler	12	9	12	9	8	5	1
Black-throated Green Warbler	3	1	3	5	2	1	-
Blackburnian Warbler	2	-	2	6	3	2	1
Yellow-throated Warbler	7	5	7	4	4	1	1
Prairie Warbler	-	-	-	-	1	-	-
Palm Warbler	-	1	1	-	1	-	-
Bay-breasted Warbler	-	1	1	1	-	-	1
Blackpoll Warbler	8	12	10	15	10	4	4
Cerulean Warbler	4	3	5	6	4	4	1
Black-and-white Warbler	11	5	5	8	7	2	2
American Redstart	19	13	14	14	14	9	7
Prothonotary Warbler	11	6	9	6	9	4	3
Worm-eating Warbler	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ovenbird	18	9	9	9	9	5	4
Northern Waterthrush	10	7	9	10	7	5	1
Louisiana Waterthrush	4	4	3	3	2	2	1
Kentucky Warbler	2	1	2	5	1	-	-
Connecticut Warbler	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mourning Warbler	1	-	4	4	5	1	2
Common Yellowthroat	15	11	12	11	11	8	4
Hooded Warbler	-	-	-	1	-	1	-
Wilson's Warbler	4	9	3	7	6	2	1
Canada Warbler	1	1	-	-	-	1	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	-	-	-	-	1	-	1

Further particulars can be derived by looking closer at the record details.

The most commonly observed species have been the Yellow Warbler, American Redstart, Tennessee Warbler and Common Yellowthroat.

The species least noted have been:

Cape May Warbler: not observed nor reported since 1995

Black-throated Blue Warbler: not observed since 1983

Prairie Warbler: once only in 1996

Worm-eating Warbler: noted only in 2008

Connecticut Warbler: only observed during these particular days in 1993

A species which no longer occurs in this region is the vividly expressive Yellow-breasted Chat. It was last seen in 1978 during this time period as recorded for this locality using the records available for this analysis. In earlier years, it was regularly noted on a day's tally sheet by competent observers.

All-in-all the second Saturday of May was a fine day to be out in the wild listening and looking at warblers. It was an especially fine situation to walk along with two birdmen knowledgeable of the nuances of warbler song and having the finely-honed skills necessary for proper identification.

Many times, my sole role was recording what species was seen where as other watchers were looking whilst my task was recording. Being the first to denote the Black-and-white Warbler was certainly a significant highlight of the day.

The most difficult species was the Prothonotary Warbler, found during a day when nearly a dozen hours had already elapsed in the pursuit of bird species. Tough times followed this sighting, but looking backwards now, it was all grand.

To have been present during bird watching which recorded 23 species of warblers on a single day is certainly something to readily appreciate. And to have a natural setting conducive to such a wonderful bunch of birds was certainly the most significant aspect of the day.