Welcomed Warblers

A Feathered Sign of Spring

As the trend in our daily temperatures continues to rise, I begin watching for the return of our spring warblers. These small and colorful birds are members of the genus Dendroica, and are considered neotropical birds, as they spend part of their life cycle (our winters) in the rain forests of South and Central America. Warblers, which migrate in the spring from these southern climates, are on their way to breeding grounds in Canada and northern New England this time of year. Cape Cod provides a vital resting place, and the birds begin to arrive in waves on the Cape during late April and into May.

Despite their brilliant and variant colors they often go unseen, but as mentioned, are heard; as these birds are insect eaters and spend most of their time up in the branches of deciduous trees. Timed by changing seasons and increasing warmth these little birds are important players in forest ecology here in the northeast; as they arrive just when the tress are beginning to leaf out, which is also the time that many insect pest and caterpillars emerge. The birds work over the trees from top to bottom eating the pests, and some studies have shown that different species of warblers work in different areas of the trees. For example: the somewhat more common Myrtle Warbler ~(pictured left)~ feeds mid to low levels on the trees, hence is seen more often; also seen frequently is the Black and White warbler, which feeds along the trunk and main branches. The Cape May Warbler and the Cerulean Warblers feed on upper branches, and the brilliant Blackburnian Warbler feeds in mid to upper areas toward the inside of the trees; thus these colorful little guys are harder to spot. However, despite the preference of deciduous trees, I have seen warblers in the scrub growth just north of Coast Guard Beach in Eastham.

The Outer Cape is an excellent place to view warblers during their spring migration. Areas of deciduous trees near water are likely to be the best. I would suggest viewing in mid-May and try the Red Maple Swamp in Eastham just north of Fort Hill, or take a drive out to the Beech Forest within the Cape Cod National Seashore in Provincetown. When here, check the areas up in the trees near the pond and around the parking lot. They seem to be the best.

Another good site is the Massachusetts Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary located off Route 6 in South Wellfleet. The areas near the ponds located south of the main building are good sites for viewing these little fellows. You can make a stop in all of these locations in one day, and you may end up spotting more than 15 species of warblers during your outing. You will need a good pair of binoculars, and remember these birds will be in upper areas of the trees.

Many folks maintain bird feeders, and yet never see warblers. This is because, as noted above, these little birds are insect eaters. If you want to attract warblers to your yard, or want to get them down out of trees, I would suggest putting out some suet, and even better add some type of water feature to your backyard. A bird bath will work, but some moving or dripping water works best as the sound seems to attract the birds, and they will stay longer bathing in the moving water. Several years ago our family created a rather large water feature in the back yard with two flowing brooks and ponds. At that point, while we knew about spring warblers and saw several species each year, we had no idea how this moving water would attract other species. Last year, we saw 18 different species visit the pond complex in a two week period.

Remember, while April showers bring May flowers...May warmth brings welcomed warblers!