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Dawn Chorus: Confusing Fall Warblers - The "Baypoll" Warbler [1]

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Date: 2022-09-18

Male Bay-breasted Warbler

Another view of the male. Those rump shots come in handy sometimes.

I’m not sure whether this is a non-breeding male or a female.

I’ve had less luck with photographing spring Blackpolls, in my yard or elsewhere. These are from Ohio’s Magee Marsh this past spring, and are my best shots thus far.

Male Blackpoll Warbler at Magee Marsh. Note the color of the legs and feet. Zoomed.

Male Blackpoll preening high up in a tree at Magee Marsh.

Hard to imagine confusing these two, right? But as the title photo shows, fall feathers change significantly from spring. The Blackpoll makes the most dramatic transformation, losing its striking black and white, and sometimes gaining a yellowish/greenish cast. The Bay-breasted loses its dark brownish red, so its olive green color becomes more dominant. That leaves two similarly sized warblers, with strong wingbars, weak eyelines and eyerings, varying degrees of streaking, white tipped primaries and tertials, and a yellow-green-buff overall look.

My main source for this DC and everyday warbling is The Warbler Guide by Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle, also available at Cornell Lab. This Wisconsin eBird article is also helpful and notes the “Baypoll” moniker birders may use when flummoxed. I made this chart of the basic differences in fall plumage. Remember, these are typical markings, and not every bird checks each box. Hopefully the formatting will hold when published.

Bay-breasted Blackpoll

Eyeline short, fine eyeline; faint eyebrow longer, wider, more distinct eyeline

Eyering may have faint, broken eyering broken eyering

Beak

upper beak mostly dark mostly dark

lower beak pale, base may be pinkish pale, no pink

Breast unstreaked olive yellowish wash with streaking

Flank often a buffy or reddish wash usually light grayish streaking

Belly unstreaked, buffy faint streaks, may be yellowish

Undertail often has light buffy wash white, contrasts w/ yellowish breast

coverts

Tail short; black edges & tip underneath short; grayish edges & tip underneath

Wingbars thick wingbars, strong black in between thin, sharp wingbars, less strong black

Tertials broad white edges contrasting white edges

Primaries white tipped white tipped

Back yellow-green, always streaking olive green, usually black streaking

Legs pale or dark legs often orangish, but can be dark

Feet dark feet pale orange feet

Movement large and slow for a warbler slow moving

I’ll go down this chart to illustrate the distinctions I have photos for and I’m fairly confident in the ID. Bay-breasted photos are aligned left and Blackpoll right. As always, I welcome corrections and clarifications.

Bay-breasted showing faint eyeline, and very faint broken eye ring. Zoomed.

Blackpoll showing stronger, but still faint, eyeline and even fainter broken eyering. Zoomed.

Two Blackpoll Warblers showing streaked breast with faint yellow wash. Zoomed.

Blackpoll warbler on the right with a gray streaking on an olive green breast. Zoomed.

Bay-breasted Warbler with light reddish wash on flanks, and clear belly. Zoomed.

Bay-breasted Warbler with unstreaked buffy belly. Zoomed.

Blackpoll Warbler with light streaking on flanks, breast and belly. This one has a strong eyeline. Zoomed.

Bay-breasted Warbler with reddish flanks, buffy wash, and short tail with black edges and tip. Zoomed.

Blackpoll Warbler with little streaking, short tail and white undertail coverts that contrast with light yellow wash on the belly. Zoomed.

This Blackpoll Warbler has the white undertail coverts, but lacks the yellow washed belly. Zoomed.

Bay-breasted Warbler with thick wingbars and strong black in between. Zoomed.

Blackpoll Warbler (left) next to a Nashville Warbler. White wingbars are strong but thinner than the Bay-breasted. Although the guides say the black between the wingbars is weaker in the Blackpoll, I don’t see much difference. Zoomed.

Bay-breasted Warbler. This photo shows the yellowish-green back with streaking, and the dark legs and feet. Zoomed.

Blackpoll Warbler with olive green back and streaking. This one has black legs and orange feet. Zoomed.

Blackpoll Warbler with orange legs and feet. This one also has the overall yellow wash. Zoomed.

I hope I haven’t confused an already confusing identification challenge. I’ll repeat that I welcome corrections and any additional clarifications.

Now it’s your turn to put all this to use in a challenge. This tiny ball of cuteness was one that had me stumped for some time. Any guesses as to Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, or do you give up and call it a Baypoll? I have my guess, but I could be wrong.

Mystery bird. Zoomed.

Another view. Zoomed.

What’s going on in your birdy world?

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