Magnolia Warbler delight!

With constant Westerlies blowing over the last week, more vagrant discoveries had to be expected on Corvo today. While early morning didn’t produce more than the regular Red-eyed Vireos, mid morning saw the broadcasting on the Walkie-talkie by Daniele of  a ‘Catharus’ thrush briefly seen in the Tennessee Valley that wasn’t subsequently relocated and would therefore remain unidentified to species level as I write this blog post.  

More encouraging for the day was the discovery in late morning of an Ovenbird by Jesper in the lower part of the ‘legendary’ Ribeira Da Ponte. As many birders were needing this species for their own WP list, the news was immediately welcomed by many who immediately headed towards the above named wooded valley. During the time spent to relocate the Ovenbird, Jesper stroke again with another impressive discovery in Da Ponte - a magnificent first-winter Magnolia Warbler - only the 8th WP record and 2nd for Corvo this year, and obviously the ‘star’ bird of the day, which proved very cooperative during the several hours needed for nearly everyone to connect with this beauty. Later in the day, a new Yellow-billed Cuckoo was found in Ribeira de Poço d’Agua as well as a Black-throated Green Warbler in Ribeira de Cancelas. So again a very productive day on The Rock despite heavy rain in the afternoon and strong blowing winds throughout the day. 

Nearctic species seen today include:

Spotted Sandpiper: 1 (southern beach)

Yellow-billed Cuckoo: 2 (Ribeira de Poço d’agua, Middle Fields)

Ovenbird: 1 (Ribeira da Ponte)

Magnolia Warbler: 1 (Ribeira da Ponte)

Black-throated Green Warbler: 1 (Ribeira de Cancelas)

Red-eyed Vireo: 4 (Tennessee Valley, Ribeira da Ponte - 2, Fojo)

Magnolia Warbler (1st winter), Ribeira da Ponte, 19 October 2017 (Vincent Legrand)