Black-Throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica caerulescens)

County List:

Rule:

Forested or Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

      (Northern Hardwoods (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Mixed Northern Hardwoods (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
   containing:
      Stand/Gap Openings

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Habitat: Shunning pure coniferous forest, the Black-throated Blue Warbler breeds most commonly in mesic deciduous forest dominated by sugar maple, sometimes in pure stands, but usually mixed with other deciduous trees, such as white and yellow birch, red maple, American beech, oak, and aspen. It also is fairly widespread, but much less numerous, in mesic mixed forest, where the hardwoods are joined by eastern hemlock, balsam fir, eastern white pine, and an occasional spruce.

Although sometimes found near clearings, this warbler prefers the interior of mature forest (trees 30-90 cm [about 1-3 feet] in diameter), where shade from the canopy is strong and the shrub cover, although in places moderately dense, is easily negotiable. The Black-throated Blue Warbler avoids young second growth.

Four Michigan nests ranged from 13 to 60 cm above the ground. Two were in the terminal branches of fallen birches, one in a dense stand of tiny maples, and the fourth attached to bracken fern. All were well shaded by low growth and by tall maples.

Habitat: Breeding: Commonly found in or near mixed and deciduous forests with heavy undergrowth or at edges of woodland clearings generally in moist places.

Special Habitat Requirements: Woodlands with thick, shrubby undergrowth.

Habitat: Interior of hardwood and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests. Breeds in large areas of relatively undisturbed forests of maple, birch, beech, eastern hemlock, spruce, and fir; mainly in the forest containing a dense undergrowth of shrubs (especially rhododendron bogs) and vine tangles. During migration, tends to be in shrubby or forested places.

Diet: Mostly insects. In summer, feeds mostly on insects, especially caterpillars, moths, and crane flies, also spiders.

Nest: Site is in thick shrubs (such as laurel, alder, rhododendron, viburnum) or saplings, in a fork within 6 feet of ground, sometimes with leaning dead branch as extra support. Nest is open cup of bark strips, cobwebs, plant fibers, lined with pine needles, moss, and hair.

Conservation Status: Requires tracts of unbroken forest for nesting, so undoubtedly has declined in some areas. Could be vulnerable to continued loss of habitat.