Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)

Pine Warbler [ventral view of adult male]: Photograph Credit: Rickey Shive; Ford Farm, Monroe County, Kentucky; 30 March 2019.

Abundance: Uncommon during spring, summer, and fall; Very Uncommon during winter, possibly with a lesser population density on the Cumberland Plateau during that season than at sites of lower elevation; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the Regional breeding population is probably stable following reduction caused by loss of habitat 2000–2004 (see Remarks [below] and see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; specimen (6 June 1938; Coopersville, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940).

Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 36 (3 May 2008; Cumberland, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob. and 24 April 2009; McCreary County, Kentucky [SBB]; m. ob.); FBC/BCC High Count: 28 (20 September 2003; Putnam County [FBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 15 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 33 (of 206 possible) check-lists during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Uncommon during each year; this classification is consistent with the overall abundance classification of the Pine Warbler around the Region.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: The Regional population of Pine Warblers was negatively affected by the outbreak of Southern pine beetles (Dendroctonus frontalis) that occurred c. 2000–2004, a decrease perhaps best documented by Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area BBS data.  

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited