Joann Merritt's Essays

I Know A Warbler When I See One - Or Do I
(Title plagiarized from Mavis Murphy’s Redhead Story)
May, 1989

Joann: “Hurry, Don, bring our binoculars and help me identify this little grayish bird. It has a white stripe above the eye and no wing bars, probably a vireo.”

Rose Marie: “This bird reminds me of a thrush”.

Allen: “He walks like an Ovenbird.”

These observations were made before reading reference books and all were correct. I was correct in describing the field marks and also in asking for help! Although, when I saw the bird’s large spike-like bill I had no doubt of it’s identity - A Swainson’s Warbler. When we think of warblers we usually visualize colorful little birds, but the Swainson’s is an exception. I quickly put out the Rare Bird Alert. When Burr answered that Frances was napping, I ORDERED “Wake her up!” She was the first to arrive and confirm the Swainson’s Warbler. The only other record for Midland County is May 1978, found by Bruce Crockett and Ted Jones.

Rose Marie made a comment about it being thrush-like. In Warblers of North America Alexander Sprunt said: If one is fortunate it may flush from the ground to perch on a nearby twig above the surrounding growth and sit there perfectly motionless, like a miniature thrush. Rose Marie saw the Swainson’s Warbler do just that and then a Hermit Thrush flew up and perched next to him for a perfect comparison. Sprunt said his singing is a burst of melody like a thrush’s song which echoes in one’s mind long after the notes have ceased. We did not hear his song, but his image will linger in our minds long after he has gone

Quoting from the same book: The birds spend most of their time on the ground gliding along gracefully, like the Ovenbird. Allen spent more than two hours waiting for the bird to appear and was rewarded by catching glimpses of the warbler walking among the plants. Allen was close enough to see a pale center streak, which they sometimes have, on the warbler‘s rusty crown.

Late in the afternoon when Don Stanley came and the sun was at our backs, the warbler perched on a limb in full sunlight. At that moment he was anything but a drab little brown bird as he is often described. Not only did the rusty brown of his crown shine in the sunlight, but his body gleamed a beautiful olive green.

The Swainson’s Warbler was discovered by John Bachman in South Carolina in 1832 and named by John James Audubon for his friend, William Swainson, an English naturalist. The bird was then “lost” to science for about 50 years until a nest was reported in 1885. Our bird must have been “lost” for he was far from his normal habitat. He prefers deep shades of southern river swamps and mountain ravines. He seems to need four things - water, tangled thickets, patches of cane, and a growth of semi-aquatic plants. East Texas provides the proper habitat for him, but West Texas?

Don gets the credit for attracting our Swainson’s Warbler because he accidentally left the water running in our flower bed thus creating a swampy area with semi-aquatic plants. In the 50' x 8' bed are elm, fruited mulberry, oak and some small shrubby soapberry trees. The ground is covered with vinca. This is adjacent to a big clump of cane to the north and a mesquite patch across the wooden fence to the west. Our warbler realized here was everything he needed. During the 24 hours he was here a total of sixteen Midnats viewed the Swainson’s Warbler. It was a lifer for all of us except Frances.

Dr. Elliott Coues said “With tireless industry do the Warblers befriend the human race…never faltering in their good work.” I wonder how many insects our Swainson’s Warbler consumed during his brief stay here.