Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

The Chestnut-Sided Warbler is a striking bird. They winter from just north of the Yucatán Peninsula and south through Panama. In spring, they migrate north and spend the breeding season from the Great Lakes north to southern Canada and east to New Brunswick and Pennsylvania. Some birds settle along the Appalachian Mountains as far south as western Tennessee.

These birds do not stay in old growth woodlands. Instead, they prefer young regrowing woods, both when breeding and on their winter grounds. Chestnut-Sided Warblers have benefited from western man’s clearing of long established woods and increased their range since the days of Audubon, Wilson and Boneparte.

My introduction to the Chestnut-Sided Warbler happened during my first visit to south Texas in the spring of 2020, when the pandemic limited my opportunities to meet migrating birds on South Padre Island. Spring 2021 was a better experience for me. With the pandemic restrictions calmed substantially, I met more of these intriguing warblers along with other species.

Today’s science views this species as monotypic (no recognised subspecies).

Chestnut-Sided Warbler - Setophaga pensylvanica — **Chestnut-Sided Warbler**
*(Setophaga pensylvanica)*

**Description:**
Chestnut-Sided Warblers are easiest found here in south Texas. They nest in the upper mid-west and into Canada. They choose deciduous and brushy habitats recovering from fire or logging for raising their young, seldom for more than a few years, before moving on after the vegetation matures. The Convention Center on South Padre Island, Texas is a first rate birding destination. I spent several hours in the morning and several more in the afternoon on this day.
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**Date Taken:** 2020:04:30 10:35

**Location:**

Convention Center
South Padre Island, Texas
United States
9.84 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/1250

**File Name:** ChestnutSidedWarbler_D500489-South-Padre

© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Pin It — **Chestnut-Sided Warbler**
*(Setophaga pensylvanica)*

**Description:**
Chestnut-Sided Warblers are easiest found here in south Texas. They nest in the upper mid-west and into Canada. They choose deciduous and brushy habitats recovering from fire or logging for raising their young, seldom for more than a few years, before moving on after the vegetation matures. The Convention Center on South Padre Island, Texas is a first rate birding destination. I spent several hours in the morning and several more in the afternoon on this day.
Read More

**Date Taken:** 2020:04:30 10:35

**Location:**

Convention Center
South Padre Island, Texas
United States
9.84 ft above sea level

**Camera Information:**
NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/1250

**File Name:** ChestnutSidedWarbler_D500489-South-Padre

© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com

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Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Chestnut-Sided Warblers are easiest found here in south Texas. They nest in the upper mid-west and into Canada. They choose deciduous and brushy habitats recovering from fire or logging for raising their young, seldom for more than a few years, before moving on after the vegetation matures. The Convention Center on South Padre Island, Texas is a first rate birding destination. I spent several hours in the morning and several more in the afternoon on this day.

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Chestnut-Sided Warblers are found here in south Texas during migration. They nest in the upper mid-west and into Canada. They choose deciduous and brushy habitats recovering from fire or logging for raising their young, seldom for more than a few years, before moving on after the vegetation matures. The Convention Center on South Padre Island, Texas is a first rate birding destination. I spent several hours in the morning and several more in the afternoon on this day.

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

My first encounter with this flashy species was last spring, here on the island. It was a bright Sunday on South Padre Island, and I stayed over 9 hours. I started the morning with an hour at Sheepshead Sanctuary and drove to the Convention Centre for the rest of the day, and met a couple of birds new to me.

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Most of us here in south Texas enjoyed the company of these warblers as they passed through on their journey north to breed. Tuesday’s birds at South Padre Island (Texas) were all great birds for me, but most of us at the Convention Center expected overnight north winds to provide a feast on Wednesday for interested birders.

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

On seeing this bird for the first time, someone asked a friend of mine, “What is that bird with the chestnut sides?”. Tuesday night’s winds at South Padre Island (Texas) did not produce the big warbler fallout we hoped for at the Convention Center. Still, there were several birding surprises in store for those of us who showed up to find birds.

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

This first year female bird was among the few migrating warblers I met before I walked out to look for terns and shorebirds. I began and ended my last day on South Padre Island, visiting the grounds that treated me to so many encounters with migrant birds. Between these times I walked out to the sand flats north of the Convention Centre to look for shorebirds and terns.