Identifying Yellow Warblers

By Nick Lund

Warblers are the gems of American birdlife. Unlike warblers in the rest of the world, which are mostly brown and boring-looking (and not actually closely related to our local birds), our New World warblers, or wood-warblers, are tiny bursts of color. Bright yellows! Oranges! Greens and blues! Each of the 50-or-so species regularly found in the U.S. has its own color scheme, vivid and delicately patterned.

Warblers are migratory and don’t stick around Maine in the winter. But during the spring, they flood back into the U.S. and Canada. Warblers can be daunting—all those different colors and patterns can make identification tricky. The first step is to begin with an easy one. Let’s start with one of Scarborough Marsh’s most common summer residents: the Yellow Warbler.

Yellow Warblers are a good starter warbler at the marsh because they’re abundant, loud, and bright. Their favorite habitat in the summer breeding season is brushy habitats near water, and Scarborough Marsh has a lot of that. Yellow Warblers can be found in trees and shrubs along the Eastern Trail, by Dunstan Landing, near the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center, along Route 9, and anywhere along the edge of the marsh or near water.

Here’s another important thing: Yellow Warblers are yellow! Bright lemon yellow, with contrasting black eyes and bills. Males are a bit brighter yellow than females, and sport some orange streaking down the chest, but these are just straight up yellow birds. Few warblers offer such a straightforward plumage!

As bright as they are, though, Yellow Warblers aren’t always the easiest birds to see. They’re small, with a wingspan of only about 8 inches. Plus, they often perch and sing from treetops where they can be obscured by leaves. Learning the song of the Yellow Warbler helps in tracking them down. Thankfully, it’s easy to remember. Their song is a high-toned, simple set of whistles that sounds like they’re saying “Sweet, Sweet, I’m so Sweet!” That’s it! A simple six-note phrase that they sing frequently throughout the day.

Join us for free guided bird walks every Wednesday morning to get more tips on how to identify birds. Meet at 8 am at the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center; we may travel to other parts of the marsh. Binoculars are available to borrow.