They're Back!

March Madness around here isn’t about basketball; it’s about the warblers—the endangered golden-cheeked warblers.  They arrive each year in mid-March and begin claiming their nesting territories on the “mountain” on the east side of our property.  I began walking the mountain-top trail and listening for them on Wednesday, March 16.  I called and called (using the Audubon app on my phone) but didn’t get an answer.  Then on Saturday the 19th, the dogs and I were back on the mountain, on the hunt.

And, they were back!  They not only answered, they came to my call and perched right above me.

It was a beautiful, bright almost-spring day, and those golden cheeks were striking against the deep blue sky.

I don’t know how many males came to my call.  I walked the ridgeline and called numerous times.  When a male appeared, he would flit from branch to branch, trying to locate his rival.  Failing to do so, he would move a few trees away and sing again.  I’m guessing several individuals came to my call based on the distance I traveled.  They perched on the branches of Ashe juniper and oak trees, singing their hearts out, and just as quickly flitting away.

The golden-cheeked warbler is very special to us.  It nests only in a small area of central Texas.  It prefers the north-facing hillsides of mature Ashe juniper, especially cedar brakes of junipers 10 to 20 feet tall, interspersed with oak, walnut, pecan and hackberry.  Its total breeding population has been estimated at only around 110,000 birds, so we feel very fortunate to have a stable population here at the farm. 

 

The warblers are said to be faithful to their breeding territory, returning year after year.  The males come in mid-March, and the females follow about five days later.  In the next week or so, as soon as the howling winds give us a break, I’ll be out to try for more photos, maybe of both males and females this time.  Then, in April I’ll be looking for their nests, deep open cups  constructed of bark strips from the Ashe juniper tree and often located in the forks of juniper branches.  What a blessing to be able to walk among them year-after year.