A small warbler that breeds in northern North American forests and migrates south across the ocean in fall. Breeding males have a distinctive black cap.
Breeding males have a black cap and white cheeks. Breeding females have fine streaks on the cap, and some show a yellow wash.
During the falls of 2014 and 2015, researchers radio-tagged Blackpoll Warblers on two islands off southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. More than 100 automated towers around the Gulf of Maine detected their flights. The study compared routes with each bird’s age, natal origin and capture date to examine movement within a migration region.
Of 75 movements that could be classified, 13 were oriented toward the migratory goal and 62 followed indirect paths. These movements occurred across ages and natal origins, while the distance and shape of routes varied among individuals. The authors suggest they may include landscape-scale stopover movements, but their function remains unknown.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The study found that indirect flights can include movement across a wider stopover landscape. Because its receiver towers were concentrated along coasts, the authors note that broader coverage is needed to map full routes. Tracking where migrants move within stopover regions, as well as their final flights between breeding and wintering areas, can improve the evidence used in migration conservation.