Common and widespread, the Bay-breasted Warbler is a classic spruce budworm specialist of the boreal forest whose populations have fluctuated in response to budworm outbreaks and declines. Results from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) suggest that, despite these annual fluctuations, the population in Canada has shown little overall change since about 1970. However, populations in some Bird Conservation Regions are experiencing large declines and the BBS does not provide good coverage of the species' northern range. Canada's responsibility for the Bay-breasted Warbler is very high, since it is home to almost the entire global breeding population. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
The Bay-breasted Warbler breeds primarily in mature coniferous forest in boreal Canada, where its population fluctuates markedly with the abundance of spruce budworm (Venier et al. 2011). It also relies on mature forest in its relatively restricted wintering range in Central America, where it faces habitat loss due to development (Farmer et al. 2008). Other than its links with spruce budworm and preference for mature conifer stands, relatively little is known about its breeding biology, partly due to the remoteness of its breeding range (Venier et al. 2011). The combination of Canada's high responsibility for the Bay-breasted Warbler, poor survey coverage over most of its breeding range, and little information on the breeding biology of this species, suggests that this is a species that warrants extra attention.
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.
