I was very happy to find this Mourning Warbler singing on his territory just up the road from my house in central Maine on May 29th, 2010. He was in a brushy area that was logged about three years ago—the perfect habitat for this species. Typically I photograph birds in this area earlier in the spring, when a number of early-returning migrants utilize the diverse habitat. Since Mourning Warblers are one of our last returning warblers, I hadn’t noticed them in previous years. So this year I decided to make a trip in late May to look especially for them. Luckily for me this guy was the first male I found. He was incredibly cooperative, singing and sitting on many perches in the open. I was delighted to get some great photos and video footage of him!
Mourning Warblers are known for being one of the ultimate skulking birds, meaning that they spend most of their time hidden from view as they move about in the brush. They prefer dense thickets and regenerating habitat on the edge of mature forest—the more tangled and dense the better!! They are definitely a bird that is more often heard than seen. Mourning Warblers occur sporadically throughout their range within the boreal forest of Canada and Northern New England and west to Michigan. Their typical song is a rolling churreee, churreee, churreee, churreee, that descends in pitch at the end.
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