The Cape May Warbler leads very different lives during the summer and winter months. During the summer, they are most often found in spruce forests, where they have access to their favorite summer food item, spruce budworms. They spend their winter on Caribbean islands and in southern Florida, where much of their diet may shift to nectar, sap, and juices obtained from puncturing fruit. The Cape May Warbler is the only warbler with a tubular tongue adapted to feeding on nectar from flowers.
Habitat
During the summer breeding season, they are found in spruce forest, usually in open forests or near woodland edges. During migration, they also prefer conifers but can be found in deciduous trees and brushy thickets as well. They are often found in palm trees during their winter months in the Caribbean and Florida.
Diet
In the summer, they primarily feeds on insects, and are especially fond of spruce budworms. During migration and in winter, they often feed on nectar, and juice obtained by piercing fruits. They will also drink sap from sapsucker drill holes.
Behavior
On summer on its preferred spruce forest habitat, usually feeds at the end of spruce branches in search of insects. They will also occasionally fly out from a perch to capture insects in mid-air.
Breeding
Non-breeder in South Dakota. The Cape May Warbler nests primarily in boreal spruce and fir forests of Canada and the northeastern United States. The female builds a small open cup nest high in a conifer, usually well concealed near the outer branches, using grasses, twigs, moss, lichens, and other fine plant materials. Typical clutches contain 4–9 eggs, and the female performs most of the incubation while both parents help feed the nestlings after hatching.
Song
The Cape May Warbler sings a thin, high-pitched series of rapid notes often rendered as tsee-tsee-tsee-tsee or a fine trill that can be difficult to hear at a distance. Because the song is so high in frequency, it is sometimes overlooked by older observers. Calls include sharp, thin chip notes given during foraging, migration, and territorial interactions
Migration
The Cape May Warbler breeds in the boreal spruce-fir forests of Canada and the northeastern United States, then migrates south through eastern North America each fall. It winters primarily in the Caribbean, especially the Greater Antilles, as well as parts of Central America and northern South America.
Similar Species
Yellow-rumped Warbler , Palm Warbler. The Cape May Warbler differs from both the Yellow-rumped Warbler and Palm Warbler by its thin, slightly decurved bill, bold facial pattern, and conspicuous white wing patch. Breeding males show a chestnut cheek patch and heavily streaked yellow underparts, features not found on either comparison species.
In fall plumage, Cape May Warblers can be more challenging, but they typically retain a yellowish wash on the face, fine streaking on the breast and flanks, and a distinct pale patch on the wing. Yellow-rumped Warbler usually shows obvious yellow patches on the rump and sides, a thicker bill, and a less strongly patterned face. Palm Warbler is plainer overall, often shows rusty tones in the crown, has less distinct wing markings, and characteristically pumps its tail almost constantly—a behavior not typical of the Cape May Warbler.
Conservation Status
The Cape May Warbler is generally considered a species of low conservation concern, although populations fluctuate substantially over time. Numbers often rise and fall in response to outbreaks of spruce budworms, an important food source on the breeding grounds. Potential threats include loss of boreal forest habitat, climate change, and long-term changes in forest insect communities, but the species remains widespread across much of its breeding range. The IUCN considers the Cape May Warbler to be a species of "least concern".
Image Information
Colored pencil drawing by Terry Sohl - 2012
Interactive eBird Map
Click to access the eBird species page for Cape May Warbler
