Years later, Green and Janssen (1975) reported that Cape May Warblers were primarily a resident in the northern part of the northeastern region of Minnesota. During the breeding season, the species lives remote from most human observers, in northern spruce-fir forests, where its nesting success is tied to its chief food, the spruce budworm caterpillar. Major funding was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). “Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina).” Minnesota Biological Survey: Breeding Bird Locations. Cape May Warbler Breeding Bird Survey MaP, 2011-2015 : Image credit: U. S. Geological Survey : Return to Cape May Warbler page Breeding distribution and relative abundance of the Cape May Warbler in North America based on the federal Breeding Bird Survey from 2011 to 2015 (Sauer et al. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 2006. Because of threats throughout its life cycle, from breeding to migration to wintering, its future is definitely dependent on multinational measures to address these threats. Cape May Warbler breeds in boreal coniferous forests across Canada, from Alberta east to Quebec and in portions of the northern lower 48, from Minnesota to Maine. Dullest immature females are entirely gray with indistinct streaking below, usually with a hint of paler neck sides and greenish edges to wing feathers. eBird data from 2014-2018. In northern Ontario over a 40-year period densities ranged from 70 pairs per km2 in the 1940s, to 0 pairs per km2 in the 1950s, to 148 pairs per km2 in the 1980s (Kendeigh 1947, cited in Baltz and Latta 1998). Roberts, Thomas S. 1932. 1984. Natural Resources Research Institute Technical Report NRRI/TR-2016/36. Niemi, Gerald J., and JoAnn M. Hanowski. Janssen, Robert B. Partners in Flight has estimated a 76% decline in Cape May Warbler populations from 1970 to 2014 (Rosenberg et al. A few years later, Janssen (1987) described the Cape May Warbler’s distribution as primarily the northern part of northeastern Minnesota in “normal” years but stressed that its numbers can fluctuate widely with spruce budworm outbreaks. These trend data indicated a decline in the population from 1995 to 2001 but a substantial increase from 2001 to 2016. U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service General Technical Report NRS-159. Warner, Dwain W., and Douglas Wells. The North American population estimate of the Cape May Warbler by Partners in Flight (Rosenberg et al. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario. Langham, Gary M., Justin G. Schuetz, Trisha Distler, Candan U. Soykan, and Chad Wilsey. No quantitative studies of Cape May Warbler populations have been published in Minnesota. (2015) and the National Audubon Society (2015) in their analysis of North American birds susceptible to climate change concluded that the Cape May Warbler is “climate threatened.” Their climate models indicated an 89% loss of its current summer range by 2080. 2016. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. The historical status of the Cape May Warbler is difficult to assess in Minnesota. The stated goal of Partners in Flight for the Cape May Warbler is to reverse its decline by 8% to 12% between 2016 and 2028. 2016). Population Estimates Database. https://doi.org/10.2173/ebirdst.2018, Certain products may be unavailable due to insufficient data. . This map depicts the range boundary, defined as the areas where the species is estimated to occur at a rate of 5% or more for at least one week within each season. In summary, the status of this species begs for additional research, but it is a challenging task to study a species that is rare and highly variable in its population and distribution. eBird is the real-time online checklist operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. Baltz and Latta (1998) reviewed the Cape May Warbler in North America. http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/mcbs/birdmaps/cape_may_warbler_map.pdf. They attributed historical changes in the distribution of the species to responses in budworm outbreaks. BirdWatching Development of Habitat Models and Habitat Maps for Breeding Bird Species in the Agassiz Lowlands Subsection, Minnesota, USA. These locations probably coincided with the distribution of spruce budworm outbreaks at the time of the MBS fieldwork. Habitat profile for the Cape May Warbler based on habitats within 200 m of point counts where the species was present during the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas (2009-2013). The Cape May Warbler is a Partners in Flight Yellow Watch List species because of a steep decline in its population and several threats. 2016). Cadman, Michael D., Paul F. J. Eagles, and Frederick M. Helleiner, eds. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “Avian Mortality at Communication Towers in the United States and Canada: Which Species, How Many, and Where?” Biological Conservation 158: 410–419. Sign up for our free e-newsletter to receive news, photos of birds, attracting and ID tips, and more delivered to your inbox every other week. Your source for becoming a better birder. The English name refers to Cape May, New Jersey, where George Ordcollected the specimen later described by Alexander Wilson. In addition, Cape May Warblers have a large clutch size, 6 on average, so they are adapted to take advantage of high populations of an available food source. The first atlas, from 1983 to 1988, identified breeding evidence in 137 townships, mostly in the Upper Peninsula, but also in the northern Lower Peninsula (Chartier et al. During the breeding season, the species lives remote from most human observers, in northern spruce-fir forests, where its nesting success is tied to its chief food, the spruce budworm caterpillar. Range. Bednar, Josh D., Edmund J. Zlonis, Hannah G. Panci, Ron Moen, and Gerald J. Niemi. Grinde, Alexis. “A Search for Nesting Cape May Warblers.” Flicker 34: 38–40. Grinde (2015) in an analysis of colonization and extinction dynamics by forest patch sizes found that the Cape May Warbler had an increased probability of colonization in small forest patches. Environment Canada (2014) estimated a broad range of 5 million to 50 million adults in Canada, where the bulk of this species’ breeding population exists. Invertebrates including insects (especially caterpillars such as spruce budworm), spiders, and fruit and nectar during the winter. Sign up now. 1984. Most of these stands were of mixed types with varying densities of white spruce and balsam fir trees. Cape May Warblers also have a preference for tall coniferous trees as opposed to the stunted black spruce that often occur near the Arctic tundra. Occurrence. Cape May Warblers suffer a high number of collisions in Florida because a substantial part of the North American population migrates from Florida to overwinter in the Caribbean. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Report T-39-R-1/F12AF00328. A version of this article appeared in “Birding Briefs” in the June 2017 issue of BirdWatching. Version 1.3. Keep up to date on all the latest birding news and info. Hertzel, Anthony X., and Robert B. Janssen. Terborgh, John. Chartier, Allen T., Jennifer J. Baldy, and John M. Brenneman, eds. Cape May Warbler Setophaga tigrina. North American Breeding Distribution and Relative Abundance: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources 2017, https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/camwar, http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mnwap/index.html, http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/mcbs/birdmaps/cape_may_warbler_map.pdf, http://www.partnersinflight.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/pif-continental-plan-final-spread-single.pdf, Baltz, Michael E., and Steven C. Latta. 2015. Data-version 2012. Why we should think twice before offering birds food with corn. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Kākāpō voted winner of New Zealand’s Bird of the Year contest, Photos of the day: First half of November 2020, What birders should know about GMO products in bird food. The federal Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) was unreliable for estimating population trends of the Cape May Warbler in Minnesota and its neighboring states. We featured Cape May Warbler, pictured above, in our June 2017 issue. 2016) was 7 million breeding adults. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Wisconsin. Roberts also reported a Cape May Warbler specimen taken on July 16, 1914, near Gabbro Lake in Lake County by Dr. C. E. Johnson. For details see the Data Methods Section. A regular breeding resident and migrant; occasionally has been observed lingering into early winter at bird feeders in Minnesota.