Possible/probable Townsend's Warbler in Wayne County. Yesterday Atlee
Coblentz found a warbler in his woods next to his shop at noon on his lunch
break that appeared to be a Townsend's Warbler but he was by himself, the
view was brief, and he knew how unlikely/rare it was. Today at noon on his
lunch break he refound it and got his brother and they both saw it again at
1:30PM, this time getting good looks. It's a bird they had seen out west. I
got a call asking to come verify the species as certain fall Black-throated
Green & Blackburnian can be very Townsend's-like. I got there mid-afternoon
and the woods had gone completely dead and the bird was not seen after the
1:30 sighting. However, after speaking directly with Atlee who has now seen
it three times I am quite confident it is a first year Townsend's Warbler
and though we didn't find it this afternoon I think there is a solid chance
it will be there tomorrow morning. However the forecast is for heavy rain
to move in by as early as 9:00AM tomorrow with pretty strong winds. So it
ends up being a pretty high risk chase but with potential for a high reward
on a species that hasn't been chaseable for hardly anyone in the state. So
I'll be looking around 8:00AM tomorrow as will Atlee. Birders are welcome.
The address is 9186 Township Rd 656. This is south of Kidron. Kidron Rd
turns into Twshp 656 when it crosses State Rt 241. Google Maps shows Hidden
Hollow Wooden Upholstery right here. 9186 is on the east side of the Rd but
parking is by the shop on the west side, opposite of the house. Please
don't block the driveway that leads to the house behind the shop. Atlee's
brother also welcomes anyone to park anywhere in his driveway which is the
next one south of the shop on the west side. There will be no traffic in
and out there tomorrow so no fears of blocking that driveway. To look for
the bird walk north from the shop along 656 just past the wire fence on the
west side where you'll see a path leading down into the woods. The warbler
has been most often seen along this path as quickly as 25 yards into the
woods and as far down as where the path crosses a small stream. It has
never been seen more than 10 feet off the ground.
Kent Miller

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