[mou] St. Croix State Park - YEWA singing CSWA song

[rdunlap at gustavus.edu]

I'll take a shot at this dilemma...

First I must say that I have been fooled many times by both species.  
Second, one must recognize that both species have quite the repertoire  
of songs. One of the best ways to help distinguish between the two for  
me has thus been to recognize patterns in the songs of both species.

The majority of Chestnut-sideds that I hear sing the usual  
"please-to-please-to-MEET-ya" with the high note on the second-to-last  
syllable. Sometimes the song is longer or shorter than this, but at  
some point I usually hear the "Meet-ya" at the end of the song. On  
several occasions I have heard only the "please-to-please-to" without  
the ending, and that's what often makes me confuse it with Yellow  
Warbler.

Yellow Warblers tend to have the high notes at the beginning of the  
song, such as "SWEET-SWEET-I'm-so-sweet." The final note can either be  
up-slurred or down-slurred; I've heard both about equally, and thus I  
have never found that to be helpful in distinguishing between the two.

The important thing to remember (at least this usually works for me)  
is where the high note occurs in the song. For Chestnut-sided, it is  
on the second-to-last syllable; for Yellow, it is on the first one or  
two syllables.

Hope this helps...

Bob Dunlap, back in Carver County for the summer



Quoting "Julian Sellers" <JulianSellers at msn.com>:

> On 8/8/06, I sent the following message to MOU-NET, and received no response:
>
> Yellow & Chestnut-sided Songs
>
> In a recent message, Al Schirmacher confessed to mistaking a  
> Chestnut-sided Warbler's song for that of a Yellow Warbler.  Al, you  
> are not alone.  I've heard it stated that the Yellow's song always  
> ends on an up-slurred note.  It's probably true that an up-slurred  
> ending indicates Yellow, but I've watched numerous Yellows singing  
> and ending on a down-slurred note.  Can anyone out there distinguish  
> with certainty which of these species is singing when the song ends  
> with a downward slur in habitat where either could occur?  If so,  
> can you explain how you do it?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Julian
> St. Paul
>
>
> From: shawn conrad
> Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 7:59 AM
> To: mou-net at moumn.org
> Subject: [mou] St. Croix State Park - YEWA singing CSWA song
>
>
> I spent a couple of days working at St. Croix State Park this week  
> and led small bird hikes in and around St. John's Landing on Tuesday  
> and Wednesday morning.
>
> At one point, we found a singing Chestnut-sided Warbler near the  
> river and heard another one immediately adjacent.  The second one  
> proved to actually be a Yellow Warbler singing a perfect  
> Chestnut-sided song.  We watched it sing, and at one point, it sang  
> the Yellow Warbler song once, then went right back to the  
> Chestnut-sided song.  I can't remember ever noting this before and I  
> wonder how these two birds can be such close neighbors...and whether  
> the Yellow Warbler successfully attracted a mate--we never saw a  
> female.  I didn't know warblers would sing the 'wrong' song; and  
> sing it well.
>
> Also of note at St. John's Landing:
>
> - Scarlet Tanager pair feeding a chick on a relatively low nest (a  
> highlight for ANY bird hike!)
> - Purple Martin pair in the nest box in the open field (I've never  
> seen one at St. Croix...in fact, they're not even on the park's  
> checklist)
> - Blue-gray Gnatcatcher near the river (listed as Occasional in the park)
> - lots of Eastern Towhees (fun bird this far north!)
> - Northern Parulas and Mourning Warblers frequently heard
>
> Shawn Conrad
> http://users.2z.net/itasca_chippewa_birding/
>
>
>
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