Warbler Guy, which wood-warblers are endemic nesters to the continental U.S.?

Not many, Giselle, as only the Swainson’s, Virginia’s, Kentucky, Hermit, Golden-cheeked, and Yellow-throated Warbler have breeding ranges limited to areas within the lower 48 states.

To clarify, the Blackpoll Warbler does not qualify as an endemic nester to the continental U.S. because it breeds extensively in latitudes north (and into Canada) of the places where it breeds in the northern U.S.

(Below photo shows a male Kentucky Warbler.)

Warbler Guy, which warbler nests farthest north in North America?

{Above graphic citation: Hunt, Pamela D. and Bonita C. Eliason. 1999. Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/431
doi:10.2173/bna.431}

The answer, Justin (in Sheboygan, WI), is the Blackpoll Warbler.

Nesting in boreal spruce and fir forests of Alaska, Canada, and the n.e. USA, the northern-most portion of this common warbler’s range is a vast swath encompassing Alaska (south of the Brooks Range to the base of Alaska Peninsula); the mouth of Mackenzie River (Yukon), and n.-central British Columbia; east through w. and s. Mackenzie, s. Keewatin, and northern portions of Alberta (south to Banff in Canadian Rockies), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (south to roughly 54°N), and Ontario (south to south end of James Bay); to central Quebec (south of Ungava Peninsula), central Labrador, Newfoundland, the Maritime Provinces, and the ne. U.S.

Its most southern latitudinal location (i.e., southeastern portion of its nesting range) is in eastern NY (Adirondacks and Catskills; ne. Massachusetts; Vermont (Green Mtns); and New Hampshire (White Mtns.) n. and se. Maine, se. Quebec (Laurentides Provincial Park to Gaspe Peninsula;; n. and sw. New Brunswick, and sw. and n. Nova Scotia (including Cape Breton I.).

Interestingly, it’s possible an isolated breeding range for this species occurs in n.w. Oregon, based on a 1976 discovery of young in this area.

Which other warblers breed nearly as far north?

The Palm Warbler subspecies known commonly as “Western Palm Warbler” (Setopha palmarium palmarum) nests in habitat corresponding to the distribution of bogs and fens in boreal forests of Canada and the northern United States.

Warbler Guy, when should I expect to begin seeing migrant-arriving Yellow-rumped Warblers?

Gus, in Wisconsin, you should expect this common wood-warbler to vary annually in its arrival time, given the vagaries of spring weather in the Midwest.

Generally, first migrants north of their winter range occur in the Upper Midwest by as early as late March, but greater pulses arrive beginning in early April and soon after. At this time (often when few if any leaves are present on deciduous trees), the Myrtle subspecies of the Yellow-rumps (Setophaga cornonata coronata) often are the most abundant songbird in forest canopies, causing warbler-seeking birders to repeatedly groan “Another Yellow-rump” as they impatiently wait for more diverse forms of Parulidae (wood-warbler family).

Peak movements of Yellow-rumps in the northern US and southern Canada occur from late April through mid-May. Like many songbird species, male Yellow-rumps migrate earlier than females, averaging 4 to 7 days sooner in their arrival upon breeding grounds.

Keep in mind that some hardy Yellow-rumped Warbler individuals remain throughout the non-breeding season in the Upper Midwest, especially during warmer winters.

As for the typically more West Coast breeding Audubon's subspecies Yellow-rumped (Setophaga cornonata auduboni), its migration dynamic shall be discussed in an upcoming article.

Fab Five Warbler Photo Quiz #7

From top to bottom, can you ID the following wood-warblers? Look for the answer in March when I post a new article.

Warbler Guy, what are occurrence maps? Do warbler occurrence maps exist?

Yes, Carli, Occurrence Maps are present for many North American birds.


(See: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/occurrence-maps/occurrence-maps)


As a tool to display the abundance of a species at any given time during the year, these representations
are called STEM (Spatio-Temporal Exploratory Model) maps that address species' occurrences in the Lower 48 states. 

(Prothonotary Warbler Occurrence Map, above; if its functionality does not work for you at this site, then go to the above site in line two and click on "Prothonotary Warbler")

For each species depicted, its migration patterns are accounted for along with its breeding range.


Additional details are necessary to fully explain the Occurrence Maps and STEM.


For now, suffice to say that Occurrence Maps may be a tool you wish to add to your repertoire when identifying wood-warblers.

Warbler Guy, are wood-warblers the smallest songbirds in our area? If not, which songbirds are smaller than wood-warblers?

The answer (Jake, in Dubuque): No.....and Ruby-crowned (and Golden-crowned) Kinglet and Bushtit are species smaller than wood-warblers. Unlike the typically 4- to 5-inch wood-warbler species, both of the kinglets and the Bushtit range from 3.5 to 4.3 inches in length*.

What other small-time songbird candidates are we missing?  What about the Verdin, you say? Or the various chickadees in North America?

Nice try, but the Verdin is 4.5 inches and the chickadees (such as the Black-capped and Mountain) typically range from 4.5 to 5.5 inches in length.

(* = Of course, at 7 inches, the anomalous Yellow-breasted Chat is larger than any of the approximately 56 wood-warbler species you might see annually in North America north of Mexico.)

Warbler Guy, I’m visiting northern California in January, so which warblers might I see on the coast?

The answer depends on where and how long you scour the landscape (along with luck).

For example, on 12/30, Ruth Rudesill found the following seven species (below account within quote marks) amid the Bodega Bay, Sonoma County area. Hermit and Black-throated Gray Warbler would be two more forest species that are uncommon to rare non-breeding species to see in January along the central/northern coast.

Within Sonoma County (per the below account), two good spots to check in the Bodega Bay area include Diekmann's Deli and Owl Canyon (both of which are highlighted at Colin Talcroft's birding spots of Sonoma Co. via: http://www.colintalcroft.com/Sonoma_County_Bird_Watching_Spots/Sonoma_County_Bird_Watching_Spots.html)

“It was a glorious day at Bodega Bay - sunshine, little wind. At Diekmann's the sun shone on the eucalyptus tree above the store ad had birds! I felt Rich S. was there showing me a Nashville Warbler along with a Yellow, Orange-crowned, Townsend's and Yellow-rumped! Chickadees were calling and it was very special.

Later in the day refound the the Palm Warbler with our group at the Cypress area of Doran Reg Park. (Dea Freid and Mike Parmeter had this bird last week ) but we saw not one but two! 7th species was a Common Yellowthroat.

Later an immature Black-legged Kittiwake flew by us at the Jetty. The male Eurasian Wigeon was at the Doran entrance pond. A flock of 300 Aleutian type Cackler Geese flew over Dea, Scott Carey and me later in the afternoon.

We saw the dark Red-tailed Hawk, , female Peregrine Falcon and the almost adult Bald eagle over the harborside part of Doran Park too

Hopefully others will post their great finds! So glad to have the day off birding with my friends!”

Ruth Rudesill

Kenwood CA