8 February 2026, Pittsburgh

When this morning dawned at -6°F (-21.1°C) it was hard to imagine spring but I really want to. What better way to “Think Spring” than to talk about warblers?

Last month on the Road Scholar birding trip to Costa Rica we saw 15 species of warblers, the majority of which (8) were northern migrants spending the winter in Costa Rica. The rest (7 species) are residents of Central and South America and many of them are related to North American breeding warblers.

North American migrant warblers seen in Costa Rica, January 2026

In just 2-3 months — in late April and early May — warblers currently in Costa Rica will start arriving in Pittsburgh. Six of the species we saw look the same year round so they were at their best. The most numerous warbler on our trip, the Tennessee warbler, as well as the bay-breasted warbler were still in non-breeding plumage. They didn’t look as snazzy.

See the list and links below the slideshow.

1. Northern Waterthrush Parkesia noveboracensis
2. Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera
3. Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia
4. Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea
5. Tennessee Warbler Leiothlypis peregrina
6. Bay-breasted Warbler Setophaga castanea
7. Northern Yellow Warbler Setophaga aestiva
8. Chestnut-sided WarblerSetophaga pensylvanica

Central and South American resident warblers

The other seven species on our checklists are residents of Central and South America. Just one reaches into North America as far as Mexico. See the list below the slideshow.

1. Gray-crowned Yellowthroat Geothlypis poliocephala (Mexico and Central America)
2. Olive-crowned Yellowthroat Geothlypis semiflava
3. Tropical Parula Setophaga pitiayumi
4. Mangrove Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia
5. Golden-crowned Warbler Basileuterus culicivorus
6. Buff-rumped Warbler Myiothlypis fulvicauda
7. Slate-throated Redstart Myioborus miniatus

Best warbler on the trip? Prothonotary! We often saw them when touring the mangrove and wetland forests by boat. They were a bright flash of yellow as they flew across the river in front of us.

p.s. Speaking of low temperatures, Pittsburgh will have an amazing warm-up starting tomorrow, Monday 9 Feb 2026, at 7:00am. The low at 7:00am Monday will be -6°F. The high at 2:00pm on Tuesday will be 44°F. That’s a 50 degree temperature swing in just 31 hours. It will feel like Spring!