Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This dainty warbler is an insectivore year-round, eating a wide variety of small crawling and flying insects and taking special advantage of spruce budworm outbreaks in the boreal forest during nesting season. In winter, in the West Indies and Central America down to northern South America, it also feeds on nectar, piercing flowers at the base to lap up the sweet liquid. During migration it also capitalizes on any available fruit or easily-obtained nectar.

During the very cold May 2022, at the peak of warbler migration, I had as many as 30 in my yard at once who, along with Cape May Warblers, fed on oranges and grape jelly as well as insects in the trees. That is when I’ve taken all of my best photos of them, from my home office window as the birds perched in a nearby boxelder and spruce tree and at the window feeder. I’ve also watched them feed on ripe cherries in our cherry tree as they pass through in August.