Dan's Feathursday Feature: Canada Warbler

Photo credit: Dan Lory

I've no intention of getting political with this weekly Feathursday blog, but the way the winds are blowing lately from Foggy Bottom, I wouldn't be surprised if the EPA and the FBI pressured the ABA to change the official ID of the Canada Warbler, and this beautiful bird named after our neighbors to the north will be SOL, eh?

Not to worry. No matter what happens with NAFTA, this bird will still be known in Mexico as the Reinita Canadiense and in France as the Paruline du Canada.

That's because Canada is where this yellow gem flies every spring for breeding. It makes the 3000-mile trip from South America in late spring up to the forests of Canada, arriving just in time to catch the last few games of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It takes care of business, raises its young, and then heads right back—via Mexico—to  Colombia, Peru and other South America countries where unfortunately they don't televise ice hockey. 

Because the Canada Warbler is in such a hurry to get to Canada and then return to Bogota or Lima, there's a very narrow window when we can spot them in the midwest. I was lucky this spring to get these photos. And then earlier this week, in the same location, I caught my first glimpse of a fall Canada Warbler heading south. I hope you can get out and find one yourself!

Dan's Feathursday Feature is a weekly contribution to the COS blog featuring the thoughts, insights and pictures of Chicago birder, Dan Lory on birds of the Chicago region.