Happy New Year

Here we go - it's a new year. All the mistakes we made last year are forgotten (right?) and all the good things we did last year will continue (right?). I hope you will have a good and prosperous new year in 2019.

I'm starting off with a question - is this bird a Black-and-White Warbler? According to my identification books, it shouldn't be hanging around Cape Cod this time of year.I see it at the usual Internet sites here and here which seem to verify what I find in my book. But it does breed here in the summer so it's not unheard of.

There are similar birds but I pretty sure this isn't one of those. The Blackpool Warbler, from what I can see here and here, is not just black and white but contains some brown on its back and wings. But it does look like could be in this range at this time of year. The Black-throated Gray Warbler, seen here and here, is only found out west and, unsurprisingly, has a prominent black throat while the birds we are seeing here do not.

As usual, one of my New Year's Resolutions is to write more often in this blog. I always start out well in January and then drop off. But I did better in 2018 than I did in 2017 so maybe there is hope. Well, there is always hope!

[Update - to see the real identity of this bird, see my newer post here]