Spring is always chock full of excitement and changes. Little, however, warms the heart of birders early in the year than the return of the jewels of the forest – the warblers. Tiny birds, but mighty, these birds flood back into their northern breeding grounds from Central and South America, bringing with them the hopes of the spring and excitement of the warm summer months. Warblers are also the cause of a condition that afflicts many birders known as “warbler neck”, because of their tendency to visit the very tips of bushes and trees, gleaning caterpillars and insects that are available early in the season. Because warblers often stay high in the canopy and are not feeder birds, many times, only their song is indicative of their presence – and identification can become a challenge since only quick glimpses and “butt views” are the norm. This makes them a particular photographic challenge, and one that I was looking forward to taking on this year. With over 50 species present in North America, and many of them either resident in, or migrating through, the state of Maine – there were ample species to choose from. However, once the leaves emerge, finding, identifying, and photographing these colorful gems becomes even more challenging. I set out to attempt to get beautiful close ups of at least 12 species, and so far this year, have topped that goal with 15 species. I still have high hopes to find at least 5 more willing birds, but the difficulties continue to mount as the season progresses and they focus less on singing and display and more on setting up housekeeping for the short and intense summer breeding season. Here are just a few of my favorites from this spring!
The Canada warbler is arguably one of the most “bejeweled” warblers, sporting a beautiful black necklace on a bright yellow background, contrasting with the slate-blue plumage above and bright white eye spectacles. They are boreal forest ground breeders requiring dense understory forest and overwinter in the Northern Andes, being one of the last to arrive in North America in the spring. They are also one of the species affected by coffee plantations in their wintering ranges. As obligate insectivores, they require insects as a major part of their diet, and favor flying insects such as flies and mosquitoes. They are often found near open water where these insects are in abundance. Listening for the song in dense scrub near water in the boreal range is likely the best trick for locating these secretive birds.
Magnolia warblers are another charismatic little warbler sporting a beautiful black necklace on yellow, making them easily confused with Canada warblers at a quick look, but this little bird has more white accents, particularly on the wings and tail. If you wish to see a Magnolia warbler, you have a narrow window of time as most only pass through Maine during their journey from Central America and the Caribbean into Canada where it breeds. Fortunately, however, this bird spends more time flitting out in the open and foraging at the tips of branches than many warblers, improving the chance of a good look as they hunt for caterpillars and larvae. Also breeders of the boreal forest, some pairs are found in the spruce and pine forest of northern Maine, where they prepare a cup nest made of grasses, weeds, and twigs in dense evergreens. Mating includes a unique “tail shaking” display that is often initiated by the male and sometimes returned by the female resulting in a “song and dance” combination that is unique to the species.
Chestnut-sided warblers are real show stoppers, and the rich brownish red sides aid in identification, accenting the bright yellow caps and yellow wing accents and black streaks over the eyes, all on a white background. They prefer new-growth forests recovering from damage such as logging or storms – and so are more readily found in edge habitat frequented by birders. Once they area becomes too overgrown, they move on to more regenerative habitat. This habitat preference, along with the fact that they spend more time out in the open, makes them easier to spot by eager spring birders. They are insect generalists, being willing to “hawk” insects out of the air or glean caterpillars and larvae from the newly emerging leaves. Nests are cup-style, and found low to the ground in shrubs and deciduous trees and they will raise up to 2 clutches in a year. They have a frequent and obvious song, which is often remembered with the mneumonic pleased, pleased, pleased to MEETcha, an accented song used primarily to attract a mate. They use a similar, but less accented song, as part of their territory defense.
Black-throated Green warblers are bold little birds of the canopies of the coniferous and mixed forests of the northeast, and often best found by their buzzy songs remembered by the mneumonic “trees, trees, I love trees”. Untiring songsters, one make was observed singing 466 songs in a single hour! The description of “green” in the name is a little confusing, until you notice that there is a triangle of green sported on their backs. Amongst mixed breeding popularions, they are noted to be dominant to Blackburnian Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Northern Parulas, but are subordinate to Magnolia Warblers. On the age scale of warblers, they are fairly long-lived, with the oldest identified being almost 5 years old.
The Northern Parula has a charming outfit, with a blue head and shoulders, bright yellow throat, broken white eye-ring, white wing bars – and a song that rises until it finally “drops over the edge of the cliff”. They require Spanish moss or Old Man’s Beard for building their nests and will only choose to mate in habitats with these types of dangling mosses and lichens. Not surprisingly, nests are also built high off the ground, and are extremely difficult to find. Their diet is a little more diverse than many of the warblers, concentrating on caterpillars during the insect season, but they will also eat some berries or seeds during the winter months. Their name comes from the diminutive form of parus, meaning little titmouse. Ask 10 birders how to pronounce the name and you may well get 11 answers.
Black-and-white warblers are perhaps the species I note most frequently in many areas that I bird, with their “squeaky wheel” song seemingly ringing from all corners of the forest. They are easy to identify warblers with their distinctive black and white striping – only likely to be confused with Blackpoll warblers or Chickadees. Their elongated back claws, heavier legs, and downward-curved bills outfit them perfectly for scurrying along the trunks and branches of trees (much like nuthatches) and plucking insects from the cracks and crevices. They are long distance migrants, overwintering in Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, and are one of the earliest early spring warbler migrants, coming to breed in our deciduous and mixed woodlands by May. These little tykes are also ground nesters, building a cup shaped nest in a cavity or on the ground near a tree stump and produce only one clutch per year. Considered combative, these little birds will fight with other species such as Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and American Redstarts that enter their territory.