By Jim Stevenson
First, please allow me to congratulate all those who were responsible for a fantastic FeatherFest: The guides, administrators, helpers and wonderful participants! Julie Ann always deserves high praise as our chief, but so many others give so much: The board and its chair, Alice Ann and her hospitality Sunday afternoon, and maybe one of the biggest thank yous to Ellen Hufft, who managed registration for around 600 people. While early April is relatively slow for warblers, one of my field trips did have a male Prairie Warbler at my drip (attached), and my groups also had three Virginia Rails (and several other species of Rallidae), a Say’s Phoebe, many Reddish Egrets, gobs of waterfowl and shorebirds, orioles, tanagers and buntings, scissor-tails and kingbirds, and several species of raptors. Other groups also had good results, and the total was well in excess of two hundred species. Congratulations to all! Second, with the weather clearing, please be mindful of the $25 morning trips we are offering the next three Wednesdays, starting in two days. Assuming there are songbird migrants around after this cold front, we may fudge into early afternoon. Meet at my cul-de-sac at 8 am. Third, today’s gallery is actually a rare “advanced birder” one, where I have shared my photos of our two waterthrush species with some pointers. Louisianas are winding down their appearance for the spring while Northerns are about to appear in small wetlands all over the UTC. Have fun!
1. LAWA- Clear throat, p ink legs.
Louisiana Waterthrushes have pinkish legs, a wider, white eyestripe behind the eye,
white breast with streaks, clear throat, beige on flanks and a deeper, hollower chip. They
also tend to migrate earlier than Northerns, although the latter can be *fair ly* early at
times. It also seems the back of Northerns may be a tad darker and less colorful. So go
through these and see what you think. After #10 there is an exercise for you! 😉
2. NOWA- Dark legs, streaked throat, dark brown back, no buffy sides.
3. LAWA- Pink legs, white throat.
4. NOWA- Darker legs, streaked throat, narrow hind eyestripe, very dark back.
5. LAWA- Buffy flanks, pink legs, wide eyestripe behind the eye, small bill, unstreaked
throat.
6. NOWA- Very dark back, dark legs, small bill, narrow hind eyestripe, no buffy flanks.
7. LAWA (caught on porch)- Large bill, white throat, p ink legs, wider white eyestripe
behind the eye.
8. NOWA- Darkish legs, narrow eyestripe behind the eye, dark back.
9. LAWA- Buffy flanks, pink legs, large bill and wide white behind the eye.
10. NOWA- Narrow hind eyestripe, dark legs, small bill, no beige on sides.
OK, now it’s YOUR turn to ID them…
Look at the pictures and decide for yourself which waterthrush it is. Then the bottom of
page will tell you. No peaking! :0-
11. Very good! LAWA…easy with the pink legs, buffy flanks and wide, hind eyestripe.
12. NOWA- Small bill, no wide hind, eyestripe, dark legs.
13. LAWA- Broader white stripe behind eye, pink legs, beige flanks, back not as dark,
unstreaked throat.
14. LAWA- Tough bird! Kinda pinkish legs, back not very dark, tad of beige on flanks,
longish bill and slightly more white behind the eye. I suspect this is a juvenile, but I am
pretty sure it’s a Louisiana.
15. NOWA- Best field mark is the dark legs. The rear eyestripe isn’t wider than the front
(actually, less wide), and the bill looks short.
16. LAWA- Very tough bird, but it seems to have beige sides and slightly pinkish legs.
The eyestripe is definitely wider behind the eye.
17. LAWA- Pink legs, wide, hind eyestripe, and that’s about it.
18. NOWA- Narrow hind eyestripe, dark legs, very dark back.
19. NOWA- Narrow hind eyestripe, no real color on back. Tough bird!
20. NOWA- Very hard bird! Bill appears small, no buffy flanks (showing!), eyestripe
behind eye isn’t wider and legs don’t appear very pink.
21. LAWA- Unstreaked throat, pink legs, back not too dark.
22. NOWA- VERY tough bird! Sun is lighting legs for pseudo-pink color, back is very
dark, no beige: Either species- note blurry tail bobbing! I cannot say with certainty this is
a NOWA, but I *think* it is. It was later in the migration and chipped like a NOWA.
23. Huh? You LIKE the picture? 😉
Yes, it’s a NOWA. Narrow hind eyestripe, white flanks, dark legs and streaked throat.
24. NOWA- (Very) Northern Waterthrush (underside looks like an Alaskan bird), narrow
eyestripe, very dark back.
25. NOWA- Narrow eyestripe, no beige on flanks and dark legs.
Posted in 
