I carried a heavy load on my shoulder up the ramp from the dock when an older gentleman asked me a question: “What’s that yellow bird in the tree around back?”

Without seeing the tree, I answered: “Yesterday, I saw a cedar wax-wing in that tree.”

“No,” he replied, “It’s something else. Yellow like a goldfinch but bigger like a robin.”

Now I was curious, so I put down the load I carried, grabbed my birdguide from inside the lighthouse, and walked around to the deck. I saw several species of bird in the tree eating mulberries: the waxwings I saw yesterday, red-winged blackbirds, chickadees, and yellowish bird I could not name. I walked under the tree to get a closer look. Dull yellow with gray wings and white wing bars. I consulted the guidebook. Pine Warbler? The guides says that Pine Warblers eat berries as well as insects and seeds. Could be.

When fruiting, the mulberry tree attracts an assortment of songbirds.