Wandering Warblers

Wandering Warblers. Wood Warbler Migration. , To the careful observer, warblers are delightful splashes of color that decorate the foliage in the spring and fall. Although several species breed here in the summer, most warblers only stop briefly in New Jersey during their migration from breeding to wintering grounds. As many as thirty species can be seen in New Jersey during the spectacular fall migration., Warblers over-winter in the tropics. In the spring, they follow rivers, coastlines, and mountain ranges northward, aided by the sun and stars. Most warblers that pass through New Jersey breed in Canada and the northern parts of the United States. At the breeding grounds, they nest and raise their young. Before the cool autumn temperatures set in, warblers return to the tropics., Declines in songbird populations, including warblers, have been noticed in many parts of their range. Recent research suggests that it may be linked to habitat loss: destruction of tropical forests where they over-winter, fragmentation of Northern breeding forests, and the steady loss of coastal forests where migrants rest along their journey.