Northern Waterthrush tosses leaf

A Northern Waterthrush watches a leaf that it tossed high into the air. These aquatic warblers often forage in shallow water, flipping and tossing leaves and seizing prey hiding underneath. Many were moving through northern Ohio yesterday, on their way to points north from tropical wintering grounds.

The song of the Northern Waterthrush is surprisingly loud and reverberating, so much so that - like the Tennessee Warbler - even people only casually interested in birds will inquire as to the song's origin. Despite their robust vocalizations, these warblers can be hard to spot in the densely vegetated wet haunts that they frequent. This one was along the margins of a swamp along the famed Magee Marsh Bird Trail in Lucas County, Ohio, yesterday.