Yellow-rumped warbler

^A first fall migrant in a flowering Rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnos nauseosus).

One of our more common migrating warblers, Yellow-rumps pass through Oasis Valley in spring (often arriving as early as February), with a pulse in April, and then again in September through November. Late September and October is when they are most abundant, sometimes dozens flitting about the cottonwoods, chasing flies over marsh and grassland, hopping on the ground in weedy areas, and going out into the deserts as well.

The "Audubon's" warbler race (Dendroica coronata auduboni) breeds commonly in conifer forests of Nevada mountain ranges, while the "Myrtle" group breeds mostly in Canada. Both forms migrate through our area. In late spring, some "Audubon's" warbler males can be seen in full colorful breeding plumage, singing, on their way to nesting ground in the mountains.

^A fall male in a weedy Cleome plant.

Yellow-rumped warblers commonly winter in the low elevations of Death Valley, 40 miles to the west and southwest of Oasis Valley.

^Hopping about on the ground after bees and flower flies.

^Fall male migrant.

 

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