Warblers in peak migration; Wisconsin weather provides rare visitors
Blackburnian warbler (photo taken by Eric Manges)
If you see groups of people lugging large cameras around our county parks, it's not paparazzi chasing celebrities – it's birders looking for warblers.
Warblers are an incredibly diverse group of birds based on colors, habitats and behavior, but what they have in common is they migrate from the tropics up to the north woods every spring.
Some species are so uncommon, like a worm-eating warbler, you could go an entire lifetime without seeing them. Others, like yellow-rumped warblers, can be found all over.
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But thanks to recent weather patterns, Milwaukee recently has had an explosion of uncommon warblers visiting its woodlands and streams.
Since May 4, radar has been glowing green just about every night as these colorful birds take flight. Warblers and most songbirds migrate at night and rely on stars and landmarks for navigation. This is why many groups advocate for turning exterior lights off at night to help these birds fly north. Radar can pick them up thanks to their huge numbers and consistent flight timing after sunset.
Every sunset for the last week has had plumes of green on radar, not rain, but all birds migrating north.
These small birds started in the tropics in the winter but, riding southern wind, have covered vast distances to forage the wealth of insects just emerging in the northern latitudes.
After a rough end to April, most of May has given Wisconsin a predominantly southern wind. Recent rain though from the west has pushed most of the calmer upper-level winds toward Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes act as a bottleneck for migrating birds since at some point the birds need to rest if they fly over water. This makes them hug the lake edge and can result in a "fall out" if bad weather moves in. Monday, May 8, we had that exact setup.
Black-throated blue warbler (photo taken by Eric Manges)
This led to all kinds of uncommon warblers gathering in relatively dense populations near the lakefront. From Lake Winnebago to Lake Park, there were all kinds of sightings of birds you often might only see once or twice in a season.
Nicole Seward, an avid wildlife photographer in southeast Wisconsin adds,
"This was pretty epic. We had quite the variety," said Nicole Seward, an avid wildlife photographer in southeast Wisconsin. "This ranked as one of the best warbler days for some of the rarer ones."
Blue-winged warbler (photo taken by Eric Manges)
Warblers can vary in color from black-and-white to bright yellow-and-orange. These small birds are constantly on the move trying to catch insects flying about in the canopy of trees.
Binoculars and telephoto lenses are the best way to appreciate these birds – but patience is key. They rarely sit in one spot or near the ground for long, and even the most experienced bird watchers can get frustrated. The photos included in this article are some of the best out of over 600 shots I got on May 9; hundreds were out of focus or just leaves. Sometimes it just comes down to dumb luck.
Chestnut-sided warbler (photo taken by Eric Manges)
But a lot of joy can be had with even more common species such as chestnut-sided warblers, palm warblers and yellow-rumped warblers. If you'd like to get started with bird watching, the Urban Ecology Center, Schlitz Audubon, Mequon Nature Preserve and Milwaukee Public Schools offer starting bird-watching events.
It's important to remember to stay on the trail and don't interrupt their natural behavior. No photo is worth risking injury to you or the bird. Matting down native plants can also damage ecosystems that these birds rely on. If you want uncommon birds you need healthy ecosystems and stomping them down off trail can put them at risk.