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In the midst of banding waterthrushes last week, we also had the good fortune of catching a couple of other beautiful birds. The first was the Eastern Phoebe, a species that shares riparian forests with waterthrushes. Phoebes advertise their presence early in the spring with their harsh, grating “song” – “FEE-bee! Fee=brrrrrt!” Holding one in the hand reminds me why we call them “tyrant” flycatchers.

Then, after we had decided to make tracks, we went to collect one of the nets and found a female Black-and-White Warbler waiting for us. These little sprites feed like woodpeckers by gleaning prey from bark, but nest like ovenbirds, on the ground in the leaf litter. The male’s song sounds like a squeaky wheel: “wee-see-wee-see-wee-see . . . “