Yellow warbler

Yellow warbler photographed in Manitoba

The yellow warbler is a bright bird in a dark woods, with lemon-yellow plumage all over, a black eye, and in males, fine rusty streaks on the chest. The song is a quick, sweet series of notes, often described as sweet, sweet, sweet, I’m so sweet.

It is a common summer bird in willows, wet thickets, and shrubby edges across Manitoba, arriving in May. The nest is a tidy cup of plant fibres, and the yellow warbler has a trick to fend off cowbirds: when it finds a cowbird egg in the nest, it may build a new floor over it and lay a fresh clutch. By late summer, the warblers leave for Central and South America.

To find out more about the yellow warbler and the places it lives, visit All About Birds.

Here are some of my favourite frames of this bird.

Field notes in photographs

  • Yellow warbler photographed in Manitoba, 1
  • Yellow warbler photographed in Manitoba, 2
  • Yellow warbler photographed in Manitoba, 3
  • Yellow warbler wading at the edge of dark water with its reflection below, Manitoba
  • Fluffed-up yellow warbler perched on a branch among aspen stems, Manitoba
  • Yellow warbler with its wings raised on a tangle of twigs, Manitoba

Yellow warbler Manitoba sightings

Where and when you can find the yellow warbler in Manitoba depends on the season and the habitat. You can see more species in the Manitoba birds section.

Map of Manitoba showing where the yellow warbler nests, with major cities and lakes
Where to look for the yellow warbler in Manitoba through the seasons: nesting in the Boreal Shield, the Taiga Shield, the Hudson Plains, the Boreal Plains, and the Prairies (gold). Habitat regions: National Ecological Framework for Canada. Boundaries: Statistics Canada. Lakes: Natural Earth.

Back to Manitoba bird photography, or see the portfolio.

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