I went out in the evening again with my binoculars, iphone with 3 bird song
apps, and my 3 dogs (who were no help at all) to try to try again to hear
and hopefully see that warbler who is imitating a cerulean.
   There are many, many, many black throated blues out there singing a
pretty typical song.  Then I heard the other one, and noticed that there
were tall oaks and maples and talked myself into thinking that maybe it WAS
a cerulean. So I played the cerulean song, and Dang they sounded the same to
me still! It seemed to be counter-singing with my tape. Then I played the
BTB again, using other apps with different variations of birds from
different areas, and a BTB came down to check me out, which would have been
very exciting to me if I hadn't been hoping for something more exotic
because I haven't really seen a BTB closely.
    I continued to hear the "cerulean" in areas with tall oaks and maples,
and stopped to play the song for a bit. The second time I got excited
because a little bird sang back then zipped high over the trail, and seemed
to land in a tall tree on the other side.  I was happy living in my fantasy
world, but I wasn't going to tell anyone.
    Then toward the last third of my route, I was hearing a LOT of BTBs
closeby, and then some that sounded more like the "other" bird. I Played the
cerulean thinking I might be getting mixed up by then, and a bird sang back
to the tape.. I was discouraged because it was more of a brushy area with
fewer tall trees, and then a definite BTB hopped to a nearby tree so I got a
good look at it SINGING. There was no doubt, even though it was dusk by
then. I could still see a black throat, white wing spot, and  brilliant
flash of blue when the remaining light hit it just right. I stubbornly hold
out hope that the OTHER birds that I heard earlier were different, less
Buzzy sounding in the beginning, but the fact that this little guy seemed to
be counter-singing to the cerulean meant that that counter-singing in itself
wasn't very good evidence of kinship.  Darn it!
     So guess that mystery is more or less solved.. ha.. for now!

Aside from lots and lots of BTBWs (I'm not even texting and I'm too lazy to
write the whole thing out)  there were many, many ovenbirds, a few
Black-throated-greens, many hermit thrushes, several wood thrushes, several
 veeries, nearer the road a chestnut-sided warbler, am. robins, several
ravens stirred up about something, ..and I didn't SEE it this time, but I'm
pretty sure Scarlet tanager (I saw one last week.. not the same area,
though) .. he sounded exactly like my tape, anyway, and maybe a nashville
warbler. Oh, and a Woodcock beeped just once, at the end when it was getting
quite dark.  I'm sure there were many others that I missed, which I'm
blaming on my dogs who got bored whenever I stopped and crashed around in
the leaves so that I couldn't hear anything else. Now what is THAT bird I
hear out the window?! (Chew-chew-chew)
Thanks everyone who tried to help me! I'll try not to ask too many more
stupid questions!

Lila

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