Cape May warblers (Setophaga tigrina) specialize in eating spruce budworms, but also use their pointed beaks and semitubular tongues to suck nectar from blossoms. On May 19 and 20, 2018, I filmed both male and female Cape May warblers on a cotoneaster bush in Central Park as they fed on the blossoms (scroll down for a video). There were so many warblers that we called the cotoneaster the "magic bush." The Cape Mays returned to the cotoneaster bushes in 2020, and we were able to delight in their antics again.
Cape May warbler in a pine near the cotoneaster bushes, Central Park, May 12, 2020
Male Cape May warbler in the magic cotoneaster bush, Central Park, May 20, 2018
Male Cape May warbler, Central Park, May 20, 2018
Cape May warbler, May 11, 2020, Central Park
Cape May warbler in the cotoneaster bush, May 12, 2020
Cape May warbler, May 14, 2020, Central Park
Female Cape May warbler, Central Park, May 19, 2018
This latest addition to the Filming the Feathers series is set to music by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Papalin and obtained from MusOpen.org, a royalty-free music source.
These photos and screen grabs from the video were taken on May 19 and 20, 2018, in Central Park.
