Big warbler year in the US update

Blue winged Warbler, KC Trail, Amherst, MA, May 20, 2026

Bay breasted Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 20, 2026

Brewster's Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 20, 2026

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, South Hadley, MA, May 21, 2026

Now for an update on the progress of my big warbler year in the US.  At this point I have seen a total of 46 species plus the two widely recognized hybrids of Blue winged x Golden winged Warblers.   There are now just five regularly species I have not yet seen with Golden winged Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, Kentucky Warbler and Kirtland's Warbler.  The only species I'm likely to get here at home would be a Connecticut Warbler in the fall.  The rest will require a trip away from home although there is always a chance of a few of the species showing up here as a rarity.  My plan going forward to get the remaining species is to make a drive a bit further south (probably Pennsylvania...hopefully somewhere closer) to get Kentucky Warbler and maybe a Golden winged Warbler.  I then have a short stop planned (two nights) for Wisconsin before our trip up to Alaska in July.  This should get me Prothonotary Warbler near Minneapolis (where I'm flying into), Golden winged Warbler (if I missed it elsewhere) and Kirtland's Warbler (hopefully in the upper peninsula of Michigan and if not I will have to make a longer drive to the lower peninsula).  Depending on how the trip works out I may also try to get Connecticut Warbler on their breeding grounds in Minnesota.  There are other rare warblers possible in the US (Crescent chested Warbler, Gray crowned Yellowthroat, Fan tailed Warbler, Golden crowned Warbler and Slate throated Redstart) but I'm very unlikely to get these as most do not show up every year and each would involve a decent investment of time and money.  The only one of the above mentioned species that has been reported so far this year is Golden crowned Warbler in the lower Rio Grande Valley.  In addition I'm still toying with the idea of making a late year trip down to Puerto Rico to get two more species for the US big year with Elfin Woods Warbler and Adelaide's Warbler (sadly airfares have gone up significantly thanks to the debacle in the middle east).  For now I will continue to try to find one (or more) of the remaining species as a rarity here and try to figure out when to make the drive south to get Kentucky Warbler.

Common Yellowthroat, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 18, 2026

Around the yard I have added a few new warbler species for the year in the last several days with my total for the year now at 22 species with the recent additions of Canada Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler and Tennessee Warbler.  I also captured a new species for the year at the water feature with a Common Yellowthroat.

A big warbler year in the US is on the table

Tropical Parula, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Mangrove Yellow Warbler, Queen Isabella Causeway east, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Rufous capped Warbler, Sycamore Canyon, Nogales, AZ, Feb 24, 2026

After thinking about it since the beginning of the year I have decided to finally pull the trigger and try for a big warbler year in the US.  It is something I have thought about doing for years and now that I'm retired I have the time.  I had not committed at the start of the year as I was not sure if I could get it to come together, I was worried about Wilson and I was not sure on the costs.  After a productive stay in Florida from early January into early February that netted me 21 species including an overwintering Swainson's Warbler, a short trip to south Texas that produced Tropical Parula and Mangrove Yellow Warbler and a trip to southeast Arizona that held multiple new species including Rufous capped Warblers plus the fact that access in the Big Bend NP for Colima Warbler will be curtailed starting this May for at least two years I decided to try to throw together series of trips that would have a good chance of seeing all the regularly occurring warbler species in the US.  At this point (mid March) I have found 28 species of the 51 somewhat regularly occurring species.  There is always the chance that something will come up with Wilson that will derail the plans but I'm hopefully that will not happen.  Here is the plan going forward to see the species I have yet to see.  I will be taking a whirlwind trip to Texas and then Arizona in early April.  In Texas I hope to see Golden cheeked Warbler in the hill country and then Colima Warbler at Big Bend NP.  Arizona will hopefully net me Lucy's Warbler, Virginia Warbler, Grace's Warbler and Red faced Warbler (on the early side for that species).  During May and into June I hope to catch up with a number of eastern/southern warblers both at home and likely a trip down south of home...location to be determined.  In early July I will make a short stop in Minnesota/Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan for Golden winged Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler and Kirtland's Warbler before heading to Alaska and then Oregon on the way home.  Between Alaska and Oregon I should be able to add MacGillivray Warbler and Hermit Warbler.  There is also the slim chance of finding one of the rarely occurring warbler species that have showed up in the US before (Crescent chested Warbler, Gray crowned Yellowthroat, Fan tailed Warbler, Golden crowned Warbler and Slate throated Redstart) although that chance is quite low.  In addition I'm also toying with the idea of a late year trip to Puerto Rico to add two more species for the year with Elfin Woods Warbler and Adelaide's Warbler.