I’ve just returned from a fairly successful trip to California, Arizona and Texas, Tuesday morning at 2am.

I’d gotten up early for a union meeting at 9am and was totally surprised when I got a text message that a Black-throated Gray Warbler had been seen in the Vanier Road area.  I just had no way of getting out of this meeting and would have to wait until the next day.

This warbler is normally found in summer, in southwestern North America and winters in southwestern Mexico. 

It could have been trying to stay ahead of snowstorm that hit Ottawa and region, November 27th. The storm originated from California and was massive.  On my trip south, people were talking about the amount of rain and heavy winds, associated with this front.  That could be one of the reasons, this bird is so far from home or its internal compass is a bit screwy.

On my way to the area where this bird was being seen, I got confirmation it was still there.  It took a few minutes to locate the bird because it moves around quite a bit.  A real beauty.  I had my Lumix and managed a few distant images. Bird #237 for Ottawa and bird #476 for the year.  I may get to 500, with a good bit of luck.

Below is a close up image, from a past trip to Arizona

Ciao for now