Blackpoll Warbler's amazing migration includes Regina, SK

Blackpoll Warbler in Wascana Park, Regina SK  © SB

Amazing story on CBC News today about the tiny Blackpoll Warbler's annual migration. Here's a snippet:

The blackpoll warbler weighs just 12 grams – less than two loonies. But the new tracking study shows it is capable of flying up to 2,770 kilometres over the western Atlantic Ocean over three days, without stopping to eat or rest.

These Boreal Forest songbirds gather (possibly from as far west as the Yukon) on the east coast in the fall and then launch into a 62-hour non-stop flight to the Caribbean and South America, the study in Biology Letters says. It concludes:

This is one of the longest non-stop overwater flights recorded for a songbird and confirms what has long been believed to be one of the most extraordinary migratory feats on the planet.

A few years ago, at a nature festival in Regina, Saskatchewan, our bird guide pointed out the Blackpoll Warbler I photographed, above. It was resting in the trees near Wascana Lake, on its way to our northern forests.

It's great to learn more about their migratory paths, and wonder if — in addition to its spring overland journey — this one also took part in the fall overwater flight. Also brings home how important caring for our environment — and theirs — really is. On a really grand, global scale.

Lots more in the CBC story — even pix of their miniature tracking backpacks.

What is this? Blackpoll Warbler
Location: Wascana Park, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Photo date: May 12, 2012.

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