A Fan-tailed Warbler was discovered an hour ago 11 miles west of Melrose, NM.
If memory serves, this would be a first record for that incredibly birdy state, and only the 9th or 10th for the ABA Area overall.
As updates come in, I’ll post them here. And if you want help in trying for the bird, consider a professional guide from AZ-Birding.com .
I found the Fan-tailed Warbler at 12:30PM on Monday, May 18, at the “Melrose Migrant Trap”, 11 miles west of Melrose, NM, off US highway 60. (See New Mexico Bird Finding Guide for detailed directions). It was on the ground beneath dead-fall next to the small stone building just behind the bird-report station. (There was a moth emergence underway, and many species were feeding on the ground, catching these moths as they emerged from the leaf litter). The warbler appeared to favor feeding beside, below, and on large fallen trunks. At one time or another, it visited most such sites within the migrant trap, but it seemed always to return eventually to the vicinity of the stone building. This species fans its tail frequently, much like a redstart, but it also wags its long tail side-to-side. This motion is usually how I first detected it each time I relocated it. I observed the bird from 12:30 until about 4:45, during which time it “vanished” 5 or 6 times. I usually could relocate it within 5-10 minutes. I was able to obtain many photos before anyone else arrived (see http://www.narba.org/default.aspx?act=newsletter.aspx&newsletterid=1451&category=Field&MenuGroup=Home& for examples). When I left at 4:45, the bird was still being observed by the others whom I had notified (including Matt).
Contact me if you would like to post any of my photos.
-gkf-