It’s May and the warblers are here.

Warblers are the joy and bane of bird-watchers. Colorful, beautiful and hyperactive little birds, new bird-watchers may be frustrated trying to catch sight of warblers flitting through the trees.

Palm warblers arrived in mid-April, flicking their yellow tails and darting about shrubs and low trees. If they are low in the bushes, their rufous caps show well. Typically they nest in bogs, but while migrating they may be seen along waterways; I always see them along the banks of the Kenduskeag Stream during the canoe race.

Warblers may be seen from the Orono Bog Boardwalk in Bangor. The bog has many black spruce trees and small hummocks where palm warblers hide their nests. They often perch on the tops of the low spruces.

Pine warblers, another early-migrant species, arrived in mid-April. Pine warblers spend their time and nest in tall pine trees. While they are hard to see and identify for new bird-watchers, birders with more advanced skills learn the pine warbler’s soft musical trill and enjoy knowing that the bird is high up in the pine tree, invisible.

Features used to identify the pine warbler are characterized in bird books as “indistinct.” For example, it has indistinct wing bars and indistinct olive streaks on its bright yellow breast. Once in early April, one landed on my bird feeder and fed on shelled sunflower seeds. I was thrilled to see its glowing olive back, which is seldom seen due to the height at which it lives.

Pine warblers feed like nuthatches early in the spring, crawling around on the bark of large pine trees, finding insect eggs and pupae. In May and June they feed among the pine needles for caterpillars.

Yellow-rumped warblers are much easier to see and identify. When I was learning warblers an experienced and knowledgeable birder said, “It wears a yellow vest and pants,” referring to its yellow sides and rump. The new bird-watcher can get plenty of practice identifying and getting familiar with this abundant species, which arrived in April.

We’ll have a Migrant Bird Festival on Saturday, May 10, at the Fields Pond Audubon Center. Free bird walks will be at 7 a.m., 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. – all for beginners.

Other free activities such as yoga, photography, viewing live turtles and music will go on all day. Native garden plants will be on sale by Rebel Hill Farm from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and lunch will be available at a nominal price. For a schedule, e-mail fieldspond@maineaudubon.org or call 989-2591.