Tag Archives: yellow rumped warbler birdwatching

Spending time with wintertime Yellow-rumped Warblers

December 29, 2023 admin

By Sally Siko

A sign that winter is here the Yellow-rumped Warblers have returned to North Carolina.
I spotted this beauty last week while birding in the OBX. While most of our warblers are leaving to spend the winter in warmer locals, Yellow-rumps are here to stay to brighten our days in the season to come.

Known affectionately as “Butter butts” they are dressed in their winter drab plumage of grey with points of yellow on their sides and rump. Their main diet consists of insects and spiders but when winter arrives (making 6 or 8 legged meals scarce) they have the ability to change their diet to eating berries. In fact, they are the only type of warbler that can digest the waxes found in bayberries and wax myrtles. This dietary adaptation allows them to survive in locations further north than most other warbler species during the winter which may give them an advantage of a head start when migrating to their breeding grounds in the spring.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are particularly common in our coastal counties as well as in the central part of NC. They are also found in the foothills of the Appalachians in smaller numbers as well. They usually stick around the Tarheel state until around mid May so you’ve got plenty of time to enjoy these beauties in the months ahead.

Photos & video by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Birdwatching News, Field Notes

The Yellow-rumped Warblers have returned to North Carolina

November 5, 2021 admin

A sight that cooler temperatures are on the way, the Yellow-rumped Warblers have returned to North Carolina.
While most of our warblers are leaving to spend the winter in warmer locals, Yellow-rumps are here to stay to brighten our days in the season to come.

Known affectionately as “Butter butts” they are dressed in their winter drab plumage of grey with points of yellow on their sides and rump.
Their main diet consists of insects and spiders but when winter arrives (making 6 or 8 legged meals scarce) they have the ability to change their diet to eating berries.
In fact, they are the only type of warbler that can digest the waxes found in bayberries and wax myrtles.
This dietary adaptation allows them to survive in locations further north than most other warbler species during the winter which may give them an advantage of a head start when migrating to their breeding grounds in the spring.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are particularly common in our coastal counties as well as in the central part of NC. They are also found in the foothills of the Appalachians in smaller numbers as well.
They usually stick around the Tarheel state until around mid May so you’ve got plenty of time to enjoy these beauties in the months ahead.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty @canonusa
#5ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

A Yellow-rumped Warbler encounter at the Pea Island Life Saving Station

April 5, 2021 admin

Here’s a cheerful sight on a grey day, the Yellow-rumped Warbler. I spotted this one while on a birding trip at the Pea Island NWR.
These little ones are quite curious about people and flew in close frequently to see what we were all about.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is a familiar winter visitor to North Carolina. They arrive in the Tarheel state in September and hang out here until mid May before departing to their breeding grounds in New England, the Rockies, Canada and Alaska.
During the cold months, they may be found searching for a meal in open woodlands, marshes and near ponds with a a brushy shoreline.

As is the case with other species of Warblers, Yellow ‘rumps are voracious eaters of insects. In the spring you can see them gleaning and moving through the trees quickly to catch their prey.
In the wintertime when insects are scarce, Yellow-rumped Warblers switch their diet to consuming berries.

In addition, they’re the only species of Warbler that are able to digest Bayberries and Wax Myrtles. This unique dietary adaptation enables them to spend the winter much farther north than other Warblers when more traditional six or eight legged Warbler fare is unavailable due to colder temperatures.
In fact, the easiest way to find a Yellow-rumped Warbler here in NC is to hang out near a Wax Myrtle bush. It usually doesn’t take long for one to show up once the berries are ready!