treehouse party: watching warblers, not politics

5/14/08

watching warblers, not politics

I'm sick of politics. I've been watching the warbler migration and ignoring the news. The warbler migration has picked up in the past few days and has been the best warbler watching for years. You ask, "What are warblers?" Good question. They are beautiful small (4-5 inch) colorful birds. They are neotropical or tropical birds that winter in the Southern U.S, Mexico, Caribbean Islands, Latin American, or South America and migrate to the Northern U.S. in spring. They have been described as being the "connective tissue" between the Amazon River and the Mississippi River and the "butterflies of the bird world."

The trees have been "dripping" with migrating songbirds. This is the time of the year birders dream about. Over the past few days I've seen, Backpoll Warblers, Wilson's Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers, Nashville Warblers, Ovenbirds, American Redstarts, Blackburnian Warblers, Black and White Warblers, Yellow Rumped Warblers, Chestnut Sided Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, a Northern Parula, a Northern Waterthrush, and a Mourning Warbler

Migrating sparrows have been moving through the are, White Crowned Sparrows, White Throated Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Lincoln Sparrows, and a Harris Sparrow.