Driving along a raised roadbed through a seasonally flooded area, the brush had gone wild in the heat and drought of the summer. Instead of standing water, it was a field of weeds grown tall in the organic soil left dry from low rainfall. Normally a great spot for seeing specific species of birds like an errant Tropical kingbird or vermilion flycatcher, we had also seen yellow warblers in the past.
The yellow warbler is both the name and the color of this stunning, diminutive bird. A mere four and three-quarter inches in size, it weighs about a third of an ounce yet still travels throughout North America down into South America every year for the winter months. With one of the widest ranges of all the North American warbler species, yellow warblers can be found from Canada down to Mexico and across the country from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast. Some will pass through Florida, providing a chance to spot this golden wonder if the habitat is just right and your luck is good that day.