Re-evaluating the Bay-breasted Warbler Breeding Range: Nine Years of Presence in Lower Michigan

Abstract

The breeding range of the Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendroica castanea) is thought to include only the northernmost portions of six northeastern and northcentral states in the United States. During a 10-year banding study of Kirtland's Warblers (Dendroica kirtlandii) in northern Lower Michigan, we caught 44 Bay-breasted Warblers outside of their reported migration dates during 9 of the 10 years. Two birds captured in 1997 were in breeding condition; one possessed a cloacal protuberance and the other a full brood patch. We also captured two hatching year birds with fleshy rictal flanges in 1997. We suggest that these records indicate a long term presence of Bay-breasted Warblers on breeding grounds considerably farther south than previously recorded.