The Cerulean Warbler is found in small numbers in southern Ontario and Quebec during the breeding season. There are few data to examine the current population status of this species in Canada, but the Breeding Bird Survey suggests a large decrease in abundance within Canada and throughout the species' continental range since the early 1970s. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario also suggests a decrease in occurrence between the early 1980s and the mid-2000s. The species was first assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada as Special Concern in 2003 (COSEWIC 2003), and was upgraded to Endangered in 2010 due to its small population and recent declines (COSEWIC 2010f). It was uplisted under the Species at Risk Act in 2017. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
Current causes of decline in the Cerulean Warbler population are thought to be loss, fragmentation, and degradation of its preferred habitat, mature deciduous or montane forest, particularly on its wintering grounds, but also at migration stop-overs and on its breeding grounds (Buehler et al. 2013, COSEWIC 2010f). In Canada, an extensive portion of habitat in eastern Ontario's Frontenac Arch is protected by Ontario Parks and Queen's University, but remaining habitat in the Carolinian Region of southwestern Ontario is highly fragmented and less secure. For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view available recovery documents, see the SARA Registry.
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.
