Yellow Warblers Are Busy

Judy and I have been watching the yellow warblers feeding on the fruits of the Mimosa tree in the backyard. The Mimosa's branches have been laden down with flowers/fruit so the branches are close to the ground. This has been giving us a super view of these birds.

Yellow Warblers breed in most of North America from the tunra southwards, but they do not range far southwestwards and avoid the Gulf of Mexico coasts also. The Mangrove and Golden Warblers occur to the south of it, to the northern reaches of the Andes. Yellow Warblers winter to the south of their breeding range, from southern California to the Amazon region, Boliva and Peru.

Yellow Warblers arrive in their breeding range in late spring – generally about April/May – and move to winter quarters again starting as early as July, as soon as the young are fledged. Most, however, stay a bit longer; by the end of August, the bulk of the northern populations has moved south, though some may linger almost until fall.

Yellow warblers are easily identified. I am so impressed with birders who are proficient in warbler identification and their special calls. Warblers are mostly brownish or dull greenish in color. They tend to be more easily heard than seen. Identification can be difficult and may be made on the basis of song alone.