If you’re looking for a place to find a nice variety of migrating warblers in the Triangle tomorrow morning, the Old Bynum Bridge in Pittsboro N.C. is the place to be!
I was pleased to see 7 different species this morning including this gorgeous Cape May Warbler foraging in the tree tops.
A brief visitor to the Tarheel stare in spring & autumn, these little guys breed in boreal coniferous forests throughout Canada, from Alberta to Quebec and in the northern United States from Minnesota to Maine.
Although they will dine on most kinds of insects, Cape May Warblers favorite food is the Spruce Budworm. In fact, this warbler’s population fluctuations may directly correlated to the boom and bust of the spruce budworms. The Cape May’s are actually pretty important to the coniferous forest ecosystem since the Spruce Budworm insects cause periodic widespread defoliation of spruces and firs. By eating the Budworms, they actually are preserving the very trees that they need for breeding and shelter.
Cape May Warblers spend the summer months in southern Canada and pass through North Carolina during September & early October on the way to their wintering grounds in the Caribbean.
Look for them in the mid to high canopies of trees in areas near water where there is still likely an abundance of insects to be found.
They will only stick around here for a short time so get out there and find them soon or you’ll have to wait until April to see ‘em 🙂
Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame 50MP DSLR, the @canonusa
#5Ds
PS. I also got to meet some fellow birders / photographers (that I follow on Insta and even some who follow me here on FB) in person for the first time.
It’s neat to experience the magic of autumn migration with my kind of people 😉
Shout out to @apexbirdluver @krchauvaux