I’ll never forget the first time I saw a Common Yellowthroat. It was several years ago in Central Park during spring migration. I was new to birding and learning the ropes from seasoned birders. I was dazzled by the warblers and couldn’t quite keep up with the sightings. We were along The Loch on Central Park. I happened to look down, and right next to the boardwalk I saw a wee yellow bird with a black mask. It was staring up at me from a shrub near the ground. I was charmed.
I saw Common Yellowthroats on three or four occasions in Inwood Hill Park during this recent 2024 spring migration, and they still surprise me like that first time in Central Park. I will dash to any place that reports a sighting. I look for them in the low shrubbery where they are often found. A couple of years ago in Inwood, I regularly saw one for several days in a row in low bushes near the dog run. It was always with a Gray Catbird nearby.
One day last month, I saw a Common Yellowthroat and several Cedar Waxwings at the same time. It was up on the high ridge overlooking the handball courts. The little masked warbler – only the males have the black mask – flitted about the bushes while the masked waxwings flew around in the tree above. The scene made me think of a Venetian masked ball. I think this was around the time of the Met Gala, so I like to think that some sort of synchronicity was at work.
Common Yellowthroats may be found in thick vegetation over a vast area of North America. Here in Inwood I’ve seen them on the shore of the main Salt Marsh, in the drainage channel linking the two marshes, and in low areas of the high forest. They have found plentiful insects to eat. During winter, they will find any suitable dense covering in the southern latitudes.
With black masks and a preference for thickets, they certainly have a propensity to hide. It’s lucky to see one at all.
Cover: Mixed media sketchbook drawing of a Common Yellowthroat by author. June 4, 2024.
Recent posts
- A Common Grackle Takes the Waters of Inwood Hill Park
- Notes from Spring Migration 2024 – Common Yellowthroats at the Masked Ball
- Cedar Waxwings and a House Finch in the Juneberries of Isham Park
- Inwood Hill Nature Center Opens and the Summer Begins
- Scaling the Heights with the Black-and-white Warblers
Birds of Inwood 
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