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It’s In Your Nature: Time running out to see as many warbler species as possible

Published May 23. 2026 06:11AM

I’ll begin by making an unusual statement. If someone asked me to take $2,000 dollars and skip seeing the spring warblers, you might guess my response.

If I missed the chance to get into the May woods, to me, it would be worse than missing Christmas, New Year’s, my birthday and a month’s supply of BK Whoppers.

I do enjoy seeing as many birds as possible in Carbon County, and since the 1970s I’ve kept a yearly log to see how many I can locate each year. But if I miss 15 or 20, that is no big deal as long as I get out in Penn’s Woods for warblers.

Various sources report that 37 or 38 species of warblers could be seen in our state. That may be a bit misleading because 13 of those species do not remain here to breed. So, the window of opportunity to see as many as possible is between mid- to late April to about the last week of May.

I have been trying to portray the fact that our passerine bird numbers continue to drop. Case in point: About 25 years ago, birding buddy Dave Hawk and I stopped at a good area at the base of the Blue Mountain on an early May morning. A wave of warblers was moving through the woodlot we were in.

The term wave relates to a large movement of birds passing through a region during migration. We had a hard time focusing our binoculars on a certain bird because as soon as I identified one Dave called out another. We undoubtedly missed many species that morning because there were so many.

Those days seemed to have stopped. Now I might identify 20 warbler species each May, but only one or two of each species. The causes are the same: loss of wintering habitats, loss of breeding areas here, fragmentation of the forests, window strikes in cities, birds hitting the ever-increasing cell and communication towers at night, the warming climate, etc.

So, I’ve included some photos of some of my favorite beautiful warblers and encourage you to look at your bird guide, get your Merlin app and get out in the woods as many mornings as you can the next week or so. Good birding to you …

Note: The warblers are all smaller than a bluebird, and they are also very active catching flying insects or hovering over a leaf to snatch a “bug,” so get practicing with your binocs …

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: True/False: No species of warbler over-winter in the U.S. and all go to the Caribbean, Central or South America.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Baltimore orioles, like almost all blackbird species, have only one nest each summer.

Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com

The beautiful chestnut-sided warbler remains in our region, finding the forest underbrush and shrubby mountain stream sides to its liking. BARRY REED/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Never seeming to sit still for a few seconds is the American redstart. The male, shown here, and female dart from twig to twig while feeding mostly on small flying insects.
Not too hard to see how it was named, the black and white warbler feeds much like nuthatches, climbing along tree trunks and limbs. It does nest here.
The beautiful blue-winged warbler is another resident warbler but sticks to its favored habitat of young successional forests (areas with many dense saplings).
The yellow warbler likes stream sides and damp areas with many willows. Its constant singing gives it away, but also may be a reason cowbirds find their nests more readily.
The prairie warbler is not a prairie bird. Successional fields, with pioneer shrubs and tree saplings now replacing meadow grasses, are their habitats.
The hooded warbler is a bird of the forests. Several spots in Penn Forest Township are my go-to spots to find them nesting.
One of the few warblers that nest on the ground is the ovenbird. Its nest formation is how it gets its name. Most forested areas in the counties in this region are graced with these birds.
The northern parula warbler is one of the prettiest warblers you can find in the deep forest and forest edge areas.
The common yellowthroat (appropriately named) inhabits thickets, underbrush in power line rights of way, and marshy thickets. Look low as they feed and nest close to the ground or in low shrubs.
The black-throated green warbler does breed here. Most move north of our area into New England and southern Canada. They are one of the latest warbler species migrating in fall though our area. I still commonly see them the first week of October.
I feel my birding each year isn’t complete until I see my first beautiful Blackburnian warbler. They are a forest loving warbler species.
Never seeming to want to completely reveal itself, the black-throated blue warbler has been one of the most difficult for me to photograph. Damp hollows with small mountain streams and their hemlock and rhododendron thickets are where they prefer to feed and nest.
One of the drabbest warblers is the pine warbler. It is rather hardy, regularly arriving in our area in early April when we still have many below freezing nights. I have seen them in late fall, and three years ago, one fed on my suet for three days over the Christmas holidays.
Tags:
Barry Reed, Environment