Population status

Bay-breasted Warbler
(Setophaga castanea)

The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) provides the best source of national population information for this species. BBS results indicate that, despite annual fluctuations, the national population of Bay-breasted Warbler has shown little overall change since about 1970. However, BBS results do not provide good coverage for the northern portion of the breeding range, an important consideration for this species, which breeds primarily in coniferous boreal forest. As a result, this assessment is considered to be of medium reliability. At the regional level, the only two Bird Conservation Regions with reasonably reliable results (displayed below) suggest large, long-term decreases in their population, in contrast to the national level results. Currently, the Bay-breasted Warbler is considered to be within acceptable levels of the national population goal (see Canada graph below).

 

Population goal and acceptable levels of variation

Species/groupGoalLower levelUpper level
Bay-breasted WarblerMean abundance (first 5 years of survey)Goal minus 25% Not applicable

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Additional information on: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Table 1: Population trends by geographic area
Geographic areaTime Period Table 1 - footnote 1 Annual trend Table 1 - footnote 2 Limits
LowerUpper
Canada Select to view graph of the geographic area: Canada 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1970-2016-0.3-1.91.3
Boreal Taiga Plains Select to view graph of the geographic area: Boreal Taiga Plains 1972-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1972-20160-4.43.6
Boreal Softwood Shield Select to view graph of the geographic area: Boreal Softwood Shield 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1970-20161-1.53.8
Boreal Hardwood Transition Select to view graph of the geographic area: Boreal Hardwood Transition 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1970-2016-3.8-5.5-1.8
Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain Select to view graph of the geographic area: Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1970-20160.2-44.6
Atlantic Northern Forest Select to view graph of the geographic area: Atlantic Northern Forest 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis1970-2016-1.9-2.9-0.9
 

References