Blackpoll Warbler

1/1600s at f10.0, ISO:2000, Canon EOS-1D X w/800mm, x1.4 converter


In the southern portion of their breeding range, Blackpoll Warblers can be found on the higher elevations of mountains in woodland or brushy areas. They also spend their summers on the wooded coastal islands of Maine and the Maritime Provinces. Father North they have been reported throughout the boreal coniferous forest. Blackpolls breed nearer to the tundra than any other warbler. Although fairly large for a warbler, Blackpoll Warblers are fairly easy to miss because of their relatively inactive foraging style and tendency to perch in dense foliage near the canopy of the trees. The Blackpoll has a deliberate feeding style with occasional flitting, hovering and hawking around branches. They birds are primarily insectivorous. These birds\' breeding ranges extends to the taiga. Blackpoll Warblers commonly nest in a relatively low site which can be found in a conifer, and they lay 3 to 9 eggs in a cup-shaped nest, though most nest usually contain less than 5 eggs. The eggs are incubated for around 12 days and the young leave the nest when they are only 10 days old, before they can fly well. They are fed by the parents for a total of around two weeks. Mated females usually begin second nests right away and leave post-fledging parental duties to their mates. The high incidence of double brooding, coupled with (and partly a function of) low nest predation and parasitism rates, results in high annual productivity for this species. Blackpoll Warblers have the longest migration of any species of New World warbler.
Nome, AK
 
06/17/2013