Pine Warbler, Setophaga pinus
My first ever Pine Warbler! Tivoli Bays, NY in 2013
As spring migration unfolds in eastern North America, the first flashes of yellow are often from Pine Warblers. They are one of the first warblers to return and fill the trees with their songs. Pine Warblers are well-named: they sing from the tops of pine trees, forage in pine trees, and go on to build their nests in pine trees. The very first warbler I ever found as a beginning birder was a Pine Warbler on April 15, 2013. I was blown away that a living thing could be such a bright yellow!
Pine Warblers come to feeders! Makes for great photo ops.
Like other warblers, Pine Warblers are brightly colored, but other markings are more subtle. They have smudges on their chests and very slight light-yellow spectacles. Unlike Yellow warblers, they have black wings with white wingbars and a white undertail. In places where they overlap with Chipping Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos, it can be hard to tell the songs of these three birds apart. All three are a repetitive, trilling song that can sound superficially similar. The thing that helps me tell the three apart is the location of the song- if it is high up in a pine tree, chances are, it is a Pine Warbler.
Pine Warblers generally eat insects. However, to my surprise, I recently discovered that Pine Warblers will come to feeders to eat seeds. They stand out sharply from the chickadees, sparrows, and other familiar faces at the feeder. It was helpful to be able to watch both the male and female at the feeder, as the female is much duller and harder to recognize than the male.
It’s always sad to say goodbye to the Pine Warblers as they continue on their way, but so many more warblers will follow that they do not leave a void for long!