Spring into Patch Birding

The first official day of Spring 2025 was March 20th. I saw my first Black-and-White Warbler of the year in a botanical garden in D.C. Yes, it was a Black-and-White Warbler. The bird had the typical zebra pattern though the black feathers were more pronounced. The warbler was flying between branches and the trunk of a nearby tree. The bird walked down the trunk and at times was perched upside down on branches. In my patch—the place in which I observe birds on a regular basis—NYC, I’ve seen and heard Dark-eyed Junco, Black-capped Chickadee, and White-breasted Nuthatch. Do you patch bird? I wrote an article about the practice for Audubon in 2019. Read Want a Training Ground for Your Birding Skills? Try Patch Birding.