Most species spend the majority of the year in transit or wintering from the southern-most U.S. to South America.
Birds return to their northerly breeding grounds just long enough to breed and raise young.
Therefore, to better understand these birds, we need to map not only their summer distribution but their wintering and migration patterns as well. We know that Tennessee Warblers, for example, move up through the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys in the spring, while in the fall, they typically travel farther east. Blackpoll Warblers likewise take a more easterly path in the fall, with a large portion of these migrants heading out over the Atlantic Ocean north of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and continuing their migration as far south as the Peruvian Andes. Warbler Watch will map the migratory routes of all North American warbler species. The warbler breeding data you submit will be used to create a breeding atlas of North American warblers.