My family and I took a day trip to Cameron Peak in August of 2017 where we explored the area. We stopped at a pull out to use a public restroom along HWY 14 near the Blue Lake trailhead. While the girls wondered about trying to escape biting flies I grabbed my camera and headed to a small pond where I witnesses warblers flying about.
I sat down on the bank of the pond and waited. No long after this male Wilson’s warbler (Cardellina pusilla) landed directly in front of me with two mayflies in his beak. He had snatched them from the sky as they were mating.
About this animal
Wilson’s warbler is a small New World warbler. It is greenish above and yellow below, with rounded wings and a long, slim tail. The male has a black crown patch; depending on the subspecies, that mark is reduced or absent in the female. Wilson’s Warblers flit restlessly between perches and make direct flights with rapid wingbeats through the understory. Unlike most warblers, they spend most of their time in the understory grabbing insects by hovering or by picking insects from foliage.
Wilson’s Warblers breed in mountain meadows and thickets near streams, especially those with willows and alders. They also breed along the edges of lakes, bogs, and aspen stands. Pacific Coast populations breed in shrubby habitat and in young stands of conifers, alders, or maples. During migration they use woodlands, suburban areas, desert scrub, and shrubby areas near streams.
