So my friend Tony Dvorak decided we needed to go see conecticut warblers on territory. A lifer for him and I had only seen one once and it was a fleeting view. I had a poor picture to prove it but it left a lot to be desired. well he in his extraordinary bird trip planning ability put together a 5 state 4 day trip to get as many lifers as we could. This would entail sleeping in the car one night in a Walmart parking lot and at the entrance to the Badlands as we made an all night journey from North to South Dakota.Well after viewing a thousand or so videos on the bogs, especially Zak Zim bog we were ready! First thing most of them said was dont get turned around in the bog , it looks deceptively innocuous but its not. Well driving down a seasonal road I peer off into the woods and see a mama bear and 2 cubs lumbering through. Hmmmm Toto we are not in Kansas anymore. We drive a little further down the road and hear to our smiling faces the call of the Connecticut warbler. We excitedly jump from our vehicle and stumble off inot the bog, the words of "Sparky" fro Zak Zim Bog ringing in my ears dont go too far in. I actually verbalize this to my buddy. We find the first warbler beautiful defending Territory from another. Perching , flying in and out of the shrubbery. We get a ton of photos I actually even capture some shaky video. Then Tony says lets go find the other one , we can hear him singing and I am a bit hesitant but he says dont worry about it I have my phone and google maps is on it. We then go another 100 feet or so and find the other warbler. We take some pics of him but he is more elusive. So we head back to the car...or do we. We begin walking which at this point seems like an hour. My mind is racing about the 3 bears,,first day and I am going to get mauled by a mama bear.I said this is not feeling right , we did not go that far in afteer w left the car. He says google maps says we are going in the right direction. We then realize that google maps isnt working , the point hasn't moved.We then regroup and Tony says lets just follow the singing of the warblers themselves. Good plan , the song is loud and easy to pinpoint we work our way back to original bird and i see the light through the treetops. We head that way and stumble out on the road quite relieved. Close call we wont do that again....well about that see next adventure
Connecticut Warbler
Oporornis agilis
Large, skulky, seldom-seen warbler. Lemon-yellow below and olive-brown above with a gray hood and complete white eyering. Female slightly duller than male. Immature has brownish hood, not gray, and is usually duller yellow below. Breeds in boggy forest with spruce or tamarack. In migration, typically found very low in dense tangles and thickets, where it walks along branches or on the ground. Especially look for weedy fields at the edge of forest, often with dense thickets, goldenrod, and jewelweed. A late spring migrant; in fall, mostly departs the U.S. by early October and flies nonstop to South America, but wintering range is not well-known.- Cornell E-bird
