Black-and-White in the Tapestry
Warbler weavings
A Black-and-white Warbler passes through the loose tapestry of Honey Locusts. She's probably on her way to Central America for the winter.
Honey Locusts are among the earliest trees in Iowa to heed the promptings of fall. Its thinning leaves make for easier warbler watching.
Often this little warbler walks vertically along the main trunk like a miniature woodpecker.
The Black-and-White Warblers above are females, with a pale gray cheek. The male has somewhat stronger black markings, especially on the cheek.
Black-and-white Warblers nest in the north, east, and southeastern US. Few if any Black-and-white Warblers spend the breeding season where I live, in Iowa. Some of them pass through my back yard as they retreat to Central or South America for the winter.
This map by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology shows the winter range in blue, the breeding range in orange, and yellow for the areas where the species is seen in migration. (Click the map for bigger image, or visit the Cornell Lab's Black-and-white Warbler) page.
Black-and-white Warblers are one of the delights of the fading year. I watch for them in Iowa in the fall.
— Diane Porter, Fairfield, Iowa, September 4, 2022