Warblers – Where To Go And When
Meet Our Team
NEWS & UPDATES
Stay up-to-date with new tours, special offers and exciting news. We'll also share some hints and tips for travel, photography and birding. We will NEVER share nor sell your information!
Apr 8, 2019 | by Greg Miller
Spring is finally here. Well. Early spring. Weather teases us with warmer temperatures and then bashes us with the last blasts of winter’s fury. It’s an up and down time for weather. But the birds know that change is in the air. And birds are looking for favorable winds from the south to help them on their perilous journeys north to their breeding grounds.
If you are like me then you love that family of small cheerful birds called warblers. These are wonderfully colorful gems that grace us with their presence on their way. If you get to see a Blackburnian Warbler (pictured above) you may be seeing a bird that has traveled from as far away as Ecuador! They must have so many stories…
This is a large family of birds in North America with over 50 species. Chances are good that you have seen at least some of them no matter what your level of experience. But even if you get out birding often, you may still have a few holes in your checklist. And you want to fill them. I hope I can help you with that.
Below is a list of warblers (in 2016 taxonomic order). Data is taken from eBird from 2006-2016. Counties are taken from my own list of most-eBirded counties (most eBirded means counties with the most checklists) in the United States for that 10-year period. Peak dates are narrowed down to the week that gives a birder the highest probability of adding this species to their checklist. The %ofChecklists column is the same as eBird’s frequency of checklists. For example, if a county has 1,000 total checklists for a given week and yellow warbler was marked (one or more individuals) as seen on 600 of those checklists then the %ofChecklists would 60%. So that 60% would represent your relative probability of adding it to your checklist.
Below is a list of all the warblers recorded in eBird between 2006 and 2016 (I’ve included Yellow-breasted Chat for us old folks). Note that for rare species, the data I have can easily be skewed by one cooperative bird showing up in an easily accessible public spot. But for most everything else I think you’ll find the results to be quite accurate.
-Greg Miller
| Species | State | County | Peak | % of Checklists |
| Ovenbird | Connecticut | Litchfield | Jun 22-30 | 62.7% |
| Worm-eating Warbler | Florida | Miami-Dade | Sep 15-21 | 42.0% |
| Louisiana Waterthrush | Kentucky | Pulaski | Jun 1-7 | 32.5% |
| Northern Waterthrush | New York | Queens | Aug 15-21 | 45.1% |
| Golden-winged Warbler | Iowa | Johnson | May 8-14 | 22.2% |
| Blue-winged Warbler | New York | Dutchess | May 15-21 | 38.6% |
| Black-and-white Warbler | New York | New York | May 1-7 | 63.3% |
| Prothonotary Warbler | Louisiana | East Baton Rouge | Jun 8-14 | 39.8% |
| Swainson’s Warbler | Texas | Jefferson | Apr 8-14 | 10.0% |
| Crescent-chested Warbler | Arizona | Santa Cruz | Jan 22-31 | 0.5% |
| Tennessee Warbler | Kentucky | Pulaski | Sep 22-30 | 53.6% |
| Orange-crowned Warbler | Texas | Hidalgo | Dec 1-7 | 67.4% |
| Colima Warbler | Texas | Brewster | May 22-31 | 13.3% |
| Lucy’s Warbler | Arizona | Yavapai | Apr 1-7 | 29.1% |
| Nashville Warbler | Wisconsin | Milwaukee | May 8-14 | 43.7% |
| Virginia’s Warbler | New Mexico | Los Alamos | May 8-14 | 16.2% |
| Connecticut Warbler | Georgia | Clarke | May 8-14 | 8.8% |
| Gray-crowned Yellowthroat | Texas | Hidalgo | Feb 1-7 | 2.6% |
| MacGillivray’s Warbler | Pennsylvania | Dauphin | Nov 22-30 | 24.8% |
| Mourning Warbler | Texas | Hidalgo | Sep 8-14 | 18.1% |
| Kentucky Warbler | Kentucky | Pulaski | Jun 1-7 | 38.6% |
| Common Yellowthroat | Kentucky | Pulaski | Jun 1-7 | 72.3% |
| Hooded Warbler | Georgia | Cobb | Apr 22-30 | 40.7% |
| American Redstart | New York | New York | May 15-21 | 63.8% |
| Kirtland’s Warbler | Ohio | Montgomery | May 1-7 | 8.3% |
| Cape May Warbler | Ohio | Lucas | May 8-14 | 34.5% |
| Cerulean Warbler | Indiana | Monroe | May 15-21 | 21.8% |
| Northern Parula | Florida | Seminole | Aug 15-21 | 58.2% |
| Tropical Parula | Texas | Hidalgo | Jan 15-21 | 4.4% |
| Magnolia Warbler | Kentucky | Pulaski | Sep 22-30 | 64.3% |
| Bay-breasted Warbler | Ohio | Lucas | May 15-21 | 36.7% |
| Blackburnian Warbler | Ohio | Lucas | May 8-14 | 36.1% |
| Yellow Warbler | New York | Seneca | May 15-21 | 71.0% |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler | Georgia | Cobb | Sep 22-30 | 47.7% |
| Blackpoll Warbler | New York | New York | May 15-21 | 48.7% |
| Black-throated Blue Warbler | New York | New York | May 8-14 | 56.2% |
| Palm Warbler | Florida | Polk | Nov 8-14 | 74.0% |
| Pine Warbler | Georgia | Cobb | Apr 8-14 | 58.8% |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | Mississippi | Hancock | Dec 15-21 | 78.8% |
| Yellow-throated Warbler | Kentucky | Pulaski | Jun 1-7 | 45.8% |
| Prairie Warbler | Florida | Monroe | Sep 1-7 | 57.3% |
| Grace’s Warbler | Arizona | Coconino | Jun 8-14 | 13.8% |
| Black-throated Gray Warbler | California | Ventura | Oct 8-14 | 28.8% |
| Townsend’s Warbler | California | San Francisco | Oct 1-7 | 45.2% |
| Hermit Warbler | California | Mariposa | Jun 15-21 | 29.5% |
| Golden-cheeked Warbler | Texas | Travis | Mar 22-31 | 14.3% |
| Black-throated Green Warbler | Maine | Hancock | May 22-31 | 56.3% |
| Fan-tailed Warbler | Texas | Brewster | Sep 1-7 | 4.7% |
| Rufous-capped Warbler | Arizona | Cochise | Oct 1-7 | 3.2% |
| Golden-crowned Warbler | Texas | Hidalgo | Jan 1-7 | 1.5% |
| Canada Warbler | New York | New York | May 15-21 | 39.2% |
| Wilson’s Warbler | California | Inyo | May 15-21 | 50.3% |
| Red-faced Warbler | Arizona | Cochise | Jun 1-7 | 9.8% |
| Painted Redstart | Arizona | Cochise | Jun 1-7 | 21.9% |
| Slate-throated Redstart | Arizona | Cochise | Oct 1-7 | 3.2% |
| Yellow-breasted Chat | Kentucky | Pulaski | Jun 1-7 | 62.7% |