Organisms often respond to variation in temperature by altering their behavior, but the sensitivity of each behavioral trait depends on the degree to which temperature affects its costs and benefits. Here, we tested whether a little-studied trait, the timing of the first nest departure in the morning, varied in response to ambient temperature at sunrise, sunrise time, and nesting stage (incubation vs. nestling) in female Orange-crowned Warblers breeding on Santa Catalina Island, California. We found that the time of first nest departure was significantly correlated with sunrise time but was not affected by ambient temperature at sunrise. Compared with the nestling period, first nest departure times tended to be later and more variable during incubation, but the causes of these patterns remain to be explored in future studies of avian early-morning behavior.