Blue-winged Warbler with Prize!

Blue-winged Warbler, male, migrant at Sanibel Lighthouse, grabs a caterpillar and flies away. Cool underside pattern!

Blue-Winged Warbler, Common Nighthawk and More Migrants, Sanibel Lighthouse

Blue-winged Warbler

Common Nighthawk

Yesterday this beautiful Blue-winged Warbler was among the migrant birds landing at the Sanibel Lighthouse, Sanibel, FL and thrilling birders. The Common Nighthawk was resting on a branch of a tree. Storms out in the Gulf of Mexico and north of us made it a wise choice for these migrants to land, rest and feed. We also saw Blackburnian, Worm-eating, Prairie, Palm, and Cape May Warblers and Common Yellowthroat, Eastern and Gray Kingbirds, Indigo Buntings, Orchard Orioles, and, at dusk, many hundreds of Barn Swallows and some Northern Rough-winged, Cliff, and Bank Swallows staged at the lighthouse and some began moving to the mainland, awesome sight!

Blue-winged Warbler and more migrants

This afternoon, after seeing all the swallows migrate in the morning, we returned to the Sanibel Island, FL lighthouse and more migrants had come in. We saw this wonderful Blue-winged Warbler in a bush.

Then we saw this little Northern Parula Warbler who had been eating fruits from a Gumbo Limbo tree. There were also handfuls of Indigo Buntings and a few Palm Warblers. These birds had come in across the Gulf of Mexico and encountered the strong north wind shift. So they landed and sought shelter and food.

Northerly winds expected tomorrow, more migrants possible.