Skip to main content

Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

Get our e-news!

Sign up

small nav

  • About Us
    • Staff
    • Board of Trustees
    • Our History
    • Contact Us
    • COVID-19 Updates
    • Partners
    • Business Members
    • Annual Reports
    • Bylaws
    • Policies
    • Conservation Center
    • Employment
  • log in
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Main menu

  • What we do
    • Land Conservation
    • Education & Events
    • Advocacy
    • Forestry & Recreation
    • News & Features
    • Forest Notes & More Publications
  • Current Projects
    • Mount Major Stewardship Fund
    • Forest Society North at The Rocks Campaign
    • Clay Brook Forest, Hampton Falls
    • Stillhouse Forest Addition, Northfield
    • Moose Mountains Expansion
    • Merrimack: River at Risk
    • Morrill Dairy Farm, Boscawen
    • Weeks Woods - Rene and Elizabeth Gilbert Tract, Gilford
  • Visit & Explore
    • The Rocks
    • Conservation Center
    • Forest Reservation Guide
  • Get Involved
    • Upcoming Events
    • Membership/Renewal
    • Support Our Work
    • Take Action
    • Volunteer
    • Subscribe to E-news
  • Search

Search form

Donate
Menu

News

  • Springtime Arrives with the Smallest of Signs

    Dave Anderson, Chris Martin, Emily Quirk
    March 5, 2021

    Take heart winter-weary friends. The first pulses of springtime arrive in the smallest of signs.

  • Acclaimed Cottrell-Baldwin Environmental Lecture Series Starts in March

    Anna Berry
    February 22, 2021

    The annual series has moved online this year, with experts exploring topics ranging from restoring wildlife habitat to foraging for edible native plants.

  • Cold is Cool Speaker Series Continues

    Anna Berry
    January 20, 2021

    Plug in to watch and learn from expert speakers and then unplug outside.

The Warbler Fallout

Spring migration phenomenon occurs annually in May
Chris Martin, Dave Anderson, Andrew Parrella
May 13, 2019
Birdwatching
Wildlife
The striking breeding plumage of the male Blackburnian Warbler. Photo Dan Mooney Flickr Creative Commons

As spring tentatively unfolds around the state, (and the more diligent of us celebrate International Migratory Bird Day - 5/11) the familiar nuisance of black flies also reappears. And as annoying as we find them, as we’ve discussed earlier, they are a sign of healthy eco-system. The presence of black flies means there are sources of clean fresh running water nearby. Black flies are also among the explosion of insect protein in the northeast this time of year, which signals the arrival of more colorful residents…neotropical migrant songbirds.

The black-throated blue warbler. Photo Claudine LaMothe Flicker Creative Commons

One particular phenomenon that happens this time of year is called, in birding circles, “Warbler Fallout.” These active birds are tiny, between 4-6 inches long. And in many species the male birds are brilliantly colored. Migrant birds been trickling in for over a month now, returning from their winter grounds in the neotropics. Most of the warblers we see in New Hampshire spend those cold months in Central America and the Caribbean, and are now returning to their breeding grounds.

To be clear, warblers is a pretty diverse family of small song birds. There are about 50 species of wood warblers in North America, and about 25 of them breed right here in New Hampshire. And several more species that don’t breed here, still pass through the state on their way to their preferred breeding grounds.

Chestnut sided warbler. Photo Michael Janke via Flickr Creative Commons

So during their spring migration, warblers travel at night; we think they follow celestial cues to stay on course. But when the fog rolls in, they fall out in random places, until the weather changes. Or sometimes they just stop cuz they’re tired, after all they’ve covered quite a few miles in the last couple of weeks. Either way, the warblers literally fall out of the sky en masse! If you’re in the right place, like a park, farm or woodlot, at the right time, you can watch hundreds, of warblers land looking for bugs to refuel them for the next leg of their journey and to rest a spell.

And the fallout is quite a spectacle, because all the males are adorned in their bright spring breeding plumage. Naturalist Edwin Teale described as rainbow birds, we captured those colors with the names we’ve given them: black-throated blue warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, ceruleyan warbler. There’s the blackburnian warbler that has a black and orange head; and the chestnut sided warbler which has rusty stripes below his wings and a yellow cap.

In addition to their garish colors, their songs also give them away, if you know what to listen for. Birders have developed some mnemonic devices over the years to help identify their songs.

 

Ovenbirds, for example, call out “teacher, teacher, teacher.”

Oven bird. Photo Tom Benson via Flickr Creative Commons

 

Meanwhile, yellow warblers say “sweet, sweet, sweeter than sweet.” 

Yellow Warbler. Photo NatureFramingham via Flickr Creative Commons

 

And the common yellow-throat warbler goes with “witchity, witchity, witchity.” 

Common Yellowthroat Warbler. Photo Russ Wigh via Flickr Creative Commons

Warblers employ nest building strategies as varied as their songs and colors. For example, ovenbirds actually build their nests on the ground. And many nest in trees in a wide variety of tree species and at widely varied heights. 

So where can you see this warbler fallout? The simpler question is where can’t you see it? There are spots all over New Hampshire to catch this remarkable display, just head over to your nearest forest and don’t forget to bring your bug spray. Because where there are warblers, there must be bugs.

 

 

Listen to this Something Wild feature here:

Footer menu

  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests54 Portsmouth St.Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603.224.9945Fax: 603.228.0423info@forestsociety.org
Land Trust Alliance accreditation logo