Warblers

Nashville warbler, photo by Monica Hall

The influx of birds, specifically warblers, from neotropical regions at this point in May is one of the most spectacular natural phenomena of the upper latitudes. On a calm and decently warm day, take a walk into the woods, and even if you can’t tell a warbler from a sparrow, you will see, with increasing excitement, a great diversity of birds. The most apparent and most common will call to you initially, those cardinals and blue jays which are delightful to watch. But listen for a little whistle, a chirp, a movement in a bush, or a song from a treetop, and you might make out a small little bird. Looking closer with binoculars will reveal a bundle of color and joy bouncing among the newly emerging leaves. Yellow is a prominent hue, sometimes contrasted with bold black streaks, other times paired with a white eye ring, or a beautiful blue-gray back. You might also see oranges, reds, and blues.

From (Hurlbert and Haskell 2003)

Generally, the thinking goes that the colorful birds live in the tropics, and those exotic colors are reserved for exotic locations. Indeed, many of the birds we are seeing outside right now do live part of the year in the tropics, but they are here now, in full breeding plumage, a resplendent exclamation of life. Many of the warblers will continue to more northern latitudes, but if you go camping in northern Wisconsin, or have visit cabin, chances are you will run into many of these birds again. In terms of breeding bird diversity during the summer months, northern Wisconsin stands out for its resident bird richness among US regions.

There are days—special days, almost always in May—when the number and diversity of birds flying by is truly remarkable. Given the alterations that humans have made to the landscape, the persistence of birds is inspiring. It makes me wonder what migration would have looked like before the European invasion.  But migration today is remarkable in its own right. I remember specific days from the past couple of years that were big birding days the same way I remember that Wisconsin beat number one Ohio State on October 16, 2010. The big birding day last year was May 17, when I kayaked down the Crawfish River. Pausing along the wetland bank, I soon found warblers strung about the bottomland forest, with flocks flying through by the minute. I don’t remember how long I sat there for, but I do remember that it seemed like I could pluck birds out of the sky if I wanted to. And if I were to pluck these birds out of the sky, there would have been bay-breasted, blackburnian, prothonotary, black-throated green, magnolia, northern parulas, Cape May, golden-winged, black-and-white, and Canada warblers.

Bay-breasted (Kelly Colgan Azar)

Blackburnian (Monica Hall)

Prothonotary (Monica Hall)

Black-throated green (Monica Hall)

Magnolia (Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren)

Northern parula (Monica Hall)

Cape May (Monica Hall)

Golden-winged (Arlene Koziol)

Black-and-white (Monica Hall)

Canada (Monica Hall)

Usually at this time of the year, I like to bring my binoculars wherever I go. Yet, as I sat down to write this I left my binoculars downstairs, and now I’ve seen small birds zipping amid the oak tree near the house. Were they blue-gray gnatcatchers? Or something uncommon? I’ll never know, but I’d encourage you to get out to areas with trees, including spots at Faville Grove Sanctuary, to see the masses of avian correspondents recently arriving from places like Colombia, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Written by Drew Harry, Faville Grove Sanctuary land steward

Cover photo: black-and-white warbler, photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren