Lifer #145 – Magnolia Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

My second lifer in just the first month of the year whoopee!  I actually saw this bird, a Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia), in the second week of the year while birding in the Turners Hall Woods, St. Andrew.  I incorrectly identified it, on seeing the bird’s white undertail, as a Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea), but thanks to the keen eyesight and the birding acumen of Ed Massiah the correction was made.  

According to the book The Birds of Barbados (an annotated checklist by Buckley, Massiah, et al), there were seven records of this species on the island, before this one, with the last sighting in March 1981.   

It is a small bird 4.3-5.1” (11-13 cm) in length, weighing about 0.2-0.5 oz. (6-15 g) and nest in North America while spending winters in South and Central America. 

This second rare warbler and lifer has motivated me to keep warbling (birding for warblers) at Graeme Hall and Turners Hall Woods in February and into the spring migration period, April-May, because I have placed the goal of ending the year with 150 local lifers back on the table, and I am four species away.