On the First Saturday Bird Walk at Ivy Creek a week ago we all saw a female American redstart (or was it a first year male redstart which has the same plumage?). Redstarts do not nest at Ivy Creek, but they breed not too far away in the foothills of the Blue Ridge (e.g. Mint Springs Valley Park). But this observation heralds the beginning of fall. After breeding, the young of the year disperse away from their nesting area. We know from banding studies of European flycatchers, that it is during this post-nuptial wandering of the young that they learn where they are and to where they will return in the following year from their wintering area. What cues they use to determine this, however, are unknown. During August at Ivy Creek we can expect to see more of these wandering warblers from near-by nesting areas like worm-eating, chestnut-sided, and hooded.
