Early Bird Catches the Worm, Literally and Figuratively

Worm-eating Warbler photo by Jennifer Dudek

By Jennifer Dudek

​If you know me, mornings are not necessarily my thing, so how I have found and stuck with birding as a hobby is sometimes baffling. Generally, birding requires setting the alarm and being out at the crack of dawn to witness the birds singing and feasting. On an early morning in May, I reaped the rewards of being the proverbial early bird catching the worm by witnessing a rare southern Nevada sighting of a Worm-eating Warbler.

​Wheeler Camp Spring had recently resurfaced on my birding radar after going there in mid-May as part of Great Basin Bird Observatory Bird-a-thon 2020. The team I was a part of, The Costaways, had Wheeler Camp Spring on our list of places to bird. It was our last stop after a long day of birding, and we found the area to be very birdy. As a result, within that week, a few of us went back three more times just in that week.
 
On an early Sunday morning a fellow birder and photographer friend and I met up at Wheeler Camp Spring to hopefully get some good shots from the birdy area. The Western Tanagers were giving us a show and we came across an Ash-throated Flycatcher nest with both parents actively bringing in food.
 
On our walk toward the back portion of the fenced area, we came across fellow birder Daniel, who eagerly shared the news that he had heard and spotted a Worm-eating Warbler (“WEWA”). I believe Daniel previously lived on or near the east coast and was familiar with the song of the WEWA but was shocked to hear it in southern Nevada. We walked backed back over to the mesquite trees where the warbler had been spotted, and sure enough you could hear it loudly, and it continually belting out its song. The WEWA was busy moving limb to limb and staying in the dark depths of the large shrubs. Fortunately, I was able to fire off a couple of shots of the Worm-eating Warbler eating a worm, or most likely a grub, but either way it was a fitting capture for this bird. 

Worm-eating Warbler photo by Jennifer Dudek

It wasn’t long before word spread across the birder network and people were flocking to the area to catch a glimpse of this special visitor. I love that being a part of Red Rock Audubon has introduced me to some awesome people that share their passion for birds, and therefore allowed me to witness this special occasion.