Northern Waterthrush Gallery

(Parkesia noveboracensis)

eBird gives this description for the Northern Waterthrush:  Large, chunky warbler; dark brown above with dark streaks on pale yellowish breast. Yellowish stripe above eye. Forages for insects by walking along edges of still ponds and standing pools, constantly bobbing its backside up and down. Breeds in thickets near ponds and wet areas. Listen for its loud, three-parted, chipping song. Possible to confuse with thrushes but smaller. Winters in Central America, Caribbean, and northern South America.  All About Birds offers this additional descriptive information about the Northern Waterthrush:  The Northern Waterthrush is often an unseen singer whose rich, sweet whistles lure listeners into its attractive habitats, the wooded swamps and bogs of northern North America. These streaky brown songbirds lack the bold colors of many other warblers and don’t forage in forest canopies. They forage at the water’s edge in bogs and still water, where they hunt aquatic insects and small salamanders, all the while bobbing the rear of the body, much like a Solitary Sandpiper, another denizen of shady swamps.

I watched and photographed my first Northern Waterthrush on the afternoon of August 31, 2020.  This bird was foraging for insects behind the drip at Christmas Mountains Oasis.  At first I thought the bird was a Louisiana Waterthrush, but close examination revealed the tell-tale spots on the throat.  I was glad to add this bird to my life list!