This morning I found this Worm-eating Warbler on the east end of the Canon City -CO Riverwalk. I first heard it giving some very raspy call notes that sounded to me like 'z,z,z'. I didn't know the call but knew this was not a bird with which I was familiar so I followed it as it flew across the trail and into a thicket at the base of a tree next to the trail. I didn't get a good view of it as it flew but noted it flew very close to the ground. There were several chickadees in the same area but once I picked this bird out from the tangle I knew it was a Worm-eating Warbler as I got good view, albeit only seconds long as it's features are distinctive. It then flew back across the trail, again very close to the ground, and I could see it's head stripes and very buffy (actually more yellowish than I remembered from the first Worm-eating Warbler I saw) coloration well. I lost it for a few minutes then refound it briefly then lost it again, then refound it again above 50 feet from where I first saw it.
This bird skulked in the thickets of shrubs, vines and other tangled vegetation making it very difficult to get a good photo, which I didn't. Both of these are the same pic, only the one at the top has only been cropped to enlarge it while I tweaked the one on the bottom to make it more visible and closer to what I recall seeing. I think the bill is visible enough in this pic to see that it is quite large. Head is buffy with clear blackish eye-stripe that extends from the front of the eye (may need to click on pic to enlarge it to see detail) towards the nape. On close view the edge of the blackish crown stripe is seen. Other body parts look buffy yellow, consistent with this species. One more pic to follow. SeEtta
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