Field Notes — 18 July 2026
Fledgling Northern Yellow Warbler waiting for his father to feed him.
Fledgling Yellow Warbler watching out for father to feed him
Adult male Northern Yellow Warbler looking for insects to feed fledling
Male Yellow Warbler with insect for feeding fledgling
Brown-headed Cowbird fledgling being fed by male Northern Warbler
Yellow Warbler fledgling 4 days later
Slightly more mature Yellow Warbler 4 days later
Northern Yellow Warbler Setophaga aestiva
Nisqually NWR · South Puget Sound · Spring and Summer
Fledgling Northern Yellow Warbler waiting for his father to feed him.
Northern Yellow Warbler Setophaga aestiva
Nisqually NWR · South Puget Sound · Spring and Summer
Fledgling Yellow Warbler watching out for father to feed him
Northern Yellow Warbler Setophaga aestiva
Nisqually NWR · South Puget Sound · spring or summer
Adult male Northern Yellow Warbler looking for insects to feed fledling
Northern Yellow Warbler Setophaga aestiva
Nisqually NWR · South Puget Sound · Spring or Summer
Male Yellow Warbler with insect for feeding fledgling
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
Nisqually NWR · South Puget Sound · Spring or Summer
Brown-headed Cowbird fledgling being fed by male Northern Warbler
Northern Yellow Warbler Setophaga aestiva
Nisqually NWR · South Puget Sound · Spring or Summer
Yellow Warbler fledgling 4 days later
Northern Yellow Warbler Setophaga aestiva
Nisqually NWR · South Puget Sound · Spring or Summer
Slightly more mature Yellow Warbler 4 days later
Northern Yellow Warbler Setophaga aestiva
Nisqually NWR · South Puget Sound · Spring and Summer
Yellow Warbler Dedicated Dads
Northern Yellow Warbler dads feeding fledglings
On Thursday, June 25th I spent a couple of hours at Nisqually NWR, near my house. While walking the boardwalk that passes through the forest, I was excited to see this fledgling Northern Yellow Warbler in the bushes calling for his father to feed him.
I had been trying to photograph the bright yellow warblers since they arrived in May after migrating from Central America and northern South America. They breed in riparian habitats and the Nisqually Refuge forest is full of them in summer, with their calls echoing down from the tallest trees. Because of their small size and rapid flight I had been unable to get sharp photos of the adults. I have watched this feeding process on two different occasions recently, and I’m amazed at the commitment of the Northern Yellow Warbler dads. They take this responsibility very seriously, diligently searching for bugs and delivering them to their waiting offspring in what seemed like every 15 minutes.
A month earlier I witnessed another Yellow Warbler feeding a fledgling at Nisqually. Sadly, the baby bird he was feeding was a squawking cowbird. I was able to get photos of the feeding process and was shocked to see the cowbird’s mouth grotesquely engulfing the adopted dad’s head. This dad was at least as diligent at feeding the cowbird as the warbler dad was feeding his own warbler fledgling, maybe even more so, because of the loud persistent demands of the cowbird. It’s sad to think of the Northern Yellow Warbler flying over 3,000 miles to breed and winding up feeding a baby bird from parasitic cowbird parents. Supposedly, Northern Yellow Warbler parents can recognize a cowbird egg in their nest and will cover it up, sometimes building several layers over it, but in this case the parasitic cowbird parents won out.
On a happier note, I saw the Northern Yellow Warbler father and his fledgling baby four days later. The fledgling had lost some of his downy feathers and was looking more mature. I also saw him hunting insects to feed himself and he was flying with his father, with Dad was still diligently bringing him insects.
Responses
A moderated comments section is on the way. For now, Kathleen shares and discusses each entry with the Pacific Northwest Birding group.