I was absolutely thrilled to spot this bright yellow warbler on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Some more experienced birders in a birding forum on Facebook have identified it as a Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina). When it comes to identifying warblers, I tend to be wrong as often as I am right. I have learned that it is best to ask for help rather than apologize afterwards for my errors.
I was pretty certain that I had never seen this species before, but decided to do a search of the blog to be sure. I was shocked to find that I spotted a Cape May Warbler last year at the start of October—check out that posting entitled Cape May Warbler. I relied on the help of experts last year too and somehow never internalized the identification into my brain. Alternatively, I can simply blame the aging process for this minor “senior moment.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Gorgeous bird and images!
Beautiful series of images of a beautiful bird Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!
Very nice!
Aww! These are lovely shots of the warbler. Brings sunshine to the heart.
Wonderful!
These are great shots !!
This warbler is particularly pretty!
He is a beauty!
What a beauty and I see he is eyeing some highly nutritious poison ivy berries!
Fabulous captures of this beauty, Mike! What a great perch with those little berries. 😃 on the senior moment, I prefer to think my brain is just too full to keep new info (like dragonfly ID)!
I think, Ellen, that those may be poison ivy berries, on which a number of bird species like to feast.
What a beautiful little bird!