Usually the first two warblers I spot during migration season are Yellow-rumped Warblers and Palm Warblers. This year was NOT a good migration year, so I only saw a handful of warbler species. But there were plenty of Yellow-rumped (aka butterbutts) and Palm Warblers.
Unlike some of the other wood warblers that spend their time at the tippy tops of large hardwood trees like oaks, Palm Warblers like to forage for insects in shrubs and small trees closer to the ground. You can spot them without getting the dreaded “warbler neck”. And they are friendly little birds. They will sit still long enough for a photograph or two unlike most of their warbler relatives that are constantly in motion.
These warblers are also a little easier to identify because they regularly pump their tails.
Palm Warblers spend their summers in Canada and their winters along the Gulf Coast stretching up as far as the Carolinas or in the Caribbean.
This year I had a Palm Warbler visit my yard for the first time since 2015.