Black-and-white Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler, male

They can climb headfirst down limbs and tree truncks while foraging

More typical warbler view shows the black and white striped undertail coverts

This a.m. we heard a Black-and-white Warbler on our property, singing it's wee-see-wee-see-wee-see song, one of the more memorable warbler tunes. This was new, as we had not had one hanging around yet this spring.

What was he doing? Most likely spending some time, looking for a mate. Birds may come to an area, sing, see if they can find a mate, then, if not, move on. There is a lot of fluidity in bird movement at this time. Many birds have migrated to their former breeding grounds, sung, gotten a mate, and are breeding. Others, such as possibly this warbler, haven't yet accomplished this. So he (it's usually the male birds that sing, but in some species femles do also) may stick around for a while and see if he has any luck. Hope he does.