Date: 5/23/26 2:26 pm From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: Triangle Spring Bay-breasted Warbler
I also am a bit suspicious of a lot of Bay-breasted Warbler reports in
eastern Piedmont this spring, as the weather was poor for pushing
Trans-Gulf spring migrants this far east in any numbers. We need nighttime
winds from the west or even northwest, and most winds were from the south,
north, or east.
I clicked on nearly all of the roughly 15 eBird pins in the
Wake/Durham/Orange/Chatham area in April/May, and it appears that the
species is not an eBird write-in from late April into about May 20, perhaps
-- as MOST accepted reports had no comment at all. Comments are required to
be accepted, IF the species were a write-in. So -- not a write-in, and thus
there is no way for anyone seeing such a report to know 1) if it was seen,
2) if seen, was it a full-plumaged male or a female, 3) was it heard only
by the reporter, or 4) was it heard only by Merlin. A FEW of these did
include a photograph, or state that the bird was seen and with a
description -- good for those who provided these.
I consider it rare in many springs to uncommon in others, but I have seen a
fair number in May here over the many years. But, Steve's concern is
understandable, and I will add that the song of a Bay-breasted Warbler is
NOT safely identifiable in NC, without visual confirmation. Its high and
thin "wee-si wee-si wee-si" type of song is simply not distinctive. It can
be confused with a Black-and-white Warbler, a Cape May Warbler, an American
Redstart, and a few others. In sum, it is a relatively scarce species in
the Piedmont in spring that really needs to be seen to be placed on an
eBird list.
Harry LeGrand
Raleigh
On Sat, May 23, 2026 at 4:42 PM ncsealord <carolinabirds...> wrote:
> Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
>
> A note about Bay-breasted Warbler (BBWA) in spring in the Piedmont.
>
> I noticed that there were “a lot” of reports of BBWA in the Triangle this
> spring. Having lived here for a long time, it seemed unusual. So I checked
> eBird and saw that yes, there have been ~16 reports (some of the same
> bird(s)) of BBWA this spring in the Triangle.
>
>
>
> Most BBWA follow a more western northbound route in the spring, and the
> bird is admittedly not at all common here in spring (fall is different).
>
> I’ve also noticed that Merlin seems to “like” BBWA and tends to “record”
> it when it might not be present. Sort of like the whole Worm-eating
> Warbler/Chipping Sparrow thing. But I am not quite sure what the “match”
> song
>
> is that it is keying on. Last year when I noticed this up in the VA
> mountains I thought it might be confusing it with part of the Cerulean Song
> ,but that is clearly not the case here. But I’ve seen it pop up enough to
> realize it’s in error (and folks who have it pop up on Merlin should
> probably proof it either by hearing the song themselves and agreeing Merlin
> is correct, or see the bird.)
>
>
>
> I went back and checked eBird for 2010 and 2015 to compare (5 springs
> versus 1, mostly pre-Merlin, granted fewer eBird users). There were a
> *total* of 5 (3 individual birds) spring reports of BBWA during that
> 6-year period and four of those years had no reports at all.
>
>
>
> Now BBWA is a cyclical breeder and numbers can fluctuate quite a bit. Plus
> more people use eBird now. But there have always been a lot of really good
> birders in the Triangle, and many of them have updated eBird with their
> records, so I think the point is fair, although you can argue the adoption
> of eBird as a factor.
>
>
>
> My real statement here is that BBWA is a very uncommon spring warbler
> (I’ve never seen one in the spring here) and seems to have a) either had a
> banner year, which is noteworthy in itself, or b) Merlin is being Merlin
> 😊
>
>
>
> This is NOT to say that folks misidentified BBWA this spring (and no one
> needs to call me to tell me they saw theirs, I trust you!) but I think it’s
> also good know which songs Merlin tends to err on, and this appears to be
> one.
>
>
>
> Steve Shultz
>
> Apex NC
>
>
>
