Desperate times call for desperate measures. I am sure that this Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) would have preferred to find the juicy insects on which it gorges during warmer weather, but they are off the menu for the season. Instead, like many other birds, this warbler has to settle for whatever berries it can find during the winter.
In this case, even the poison ivy berries seemed to be picked over, with only a few wizen berries remaining. The warbler had to work had to snag those berries, using all of its acrobatic prowess. Momentarily satisfied it moved on, hoping perhaps that the pickings would not be so slim at its next stop.
I am always shocked to see any warblers in the winter. Most warblers pass through our area during the spring and the autumn, but Yellow-rumped Warblers hang around for most of the winter. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website:
“Yellow-rumped Warblers are perhaps the most versatile foragers of all warblers. They’re the warbler you’re most likely to see fluttering out from a tree to catch a flying insect, and they’re also quick to switch over to eating berries in fall. Other places Yellow-rumped Warblers have been spotted foraging include picking at insects on washed-up seaweed at the beach, skimming insects from the surface of rivers and the ocean, picking them out of spiderwebs, and grabbing them off piles of manure.”
In addition to its versatility in foraging, the Yellow-rumped Warbler has an amazingly robust digestive system. “The Yellow-rumped Warbler is the only warbler able to digest the waxes found in bayberries and wax myrtles. Its ability to use these fruits allows it to winter farther north than other warblers, sometimes as far north as Newfoundland.”
We may complain about poison ivy when we encounter it during the summer, but its berries serve as an important food source for birds like this Yellow-rumped Warbler that help them to survive the winter. Are you willing to put up with some minor inconvenience for the sake of these beautiful little creatures with whom we share this planet?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 