I had a very strange looking bird this morning (Wakefield Park, Fairfax
County). A warbler with a white chin area (like a Myrtle Warbler) but
otherwise plain below a fairly large black crescent across the upper breast.
I had seen something like that some years ago but could not track it down.
This bird was more cooperative and I was soon able to see that, apart from
the black crescent, it was a typical female American Redstart! Some sort of
hybrid? Any comments welcome.
Stephen Eccles
PS. Otherwise a really good warbler weeked. Today: three different Wilson's,
a Northern Waterthrush, as well as several Magnolias, a Black-throated Blue
(female), a Blackburnian (female), several Chestnut-sided, several normal
Redstarts, many Parulas, and a Canada (female). Yesterday at home I had a
female Black-throated Green (a little late) and a male Tennessee (which I
never seem to see in the 'wild', but only at my garden waterfall).