Photo of the day - May 8

Blackpoll warblers will be arriving in interior Alaska soon from their winter grounds in South America. Blackpoll warblers are one of my favorite birds because of their unique song which is so high pitched many people can not hear it, and because of their incredible annual migratory route (see the attached map). In Scott Weidensaul's outstanding book on bird migration, "Living On The Wind" he states that blackpolls weigh less than half an ounce and yet they make an incredible migration of 12,000 miles round trip each year. In the fall, they gather on the Atlantic coast and then launch off on an 80-90 hour nonstop flight, and use prevailing winds to bring them back onshore in South America. And for all you cat owners, keep your cats indoors. Wouldn't it be ashamed to have your cat catch and unnecessarily kill a blackpoll warbler after it had worked so hard to get here. Photo Courtesy Steve DuBois