World of Warblers

May is the prime month across much of North America to celebrate the return of migratory birds from the tropics. Of all those coming back, it is the warblers that many birders eagerly await. And of the more than 50 species that brighten our spring, many gleam like precious stones. From the sky-blue of the Cerulean Warbler to the golden cloak of this Prothonotary Warbler, these tiny birds dazzle us. Purchasing shade-grown coffee can help these and other warblers!

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BirdNote^®

A World of Warblers

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote!

[Scarlet Tanager song]

May is the prime month across much of North America to celebrate the return of migratory birds from the tropics. Orioles, tanagers, buntings, cuckoos, and many more wing northward. But of all those coming back, it’s the warblers that many eagerly await, like the Ovenbird, whose song we’re hearing now.

[Ovenbird song]

The warblers stand out as our most fabulous array of avian jewels. Like true gems, most are miniatures, around five inches long. And of the more than 50 species that brighten our spring, many gleam like precious stones. These birds dazzle us – from the glinting ornaments of the Golden-winged Warbler, to the sky-blue of the Cerulean Warbler.

[Song of Cerulean Warbler]

Nesting from southern wetlands to arctic willows, species of warblers fill many niches, from fly-catching from the tallest trees, to dwelling on the ground.

[Song of Ovenbird]

And some of the warblers’ names are unforgettable: The Painted Redstart [song of Painted Redstart]. The Prothonotary Warbler, perhaps the brightest gem of all [song of Pronthonotary Warbler]. And the Worm-eating Warbler.

[Buzzy song of Worm-eating Warbler]

Enjoy their return and share this show, or any other, with a friend, when you come to birdnote.org [Buzzy song of Worm-eating Warbler].

I’m Michael Stein.

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Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NewYork. Song of Scarlet Tanager [73937] recorded by G.A. Keller; song of Ovenbird [10632] by R.C. Stein; song of Cerulean Warbler [73974] G.A. Keller; song of Painted Redstart [121945] by C.A. Marantz; song of Prothonotary Warbler [85160] and song of Worm-eating Warbler [84858] by W.L. Hershberger.

Theme music composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

Producer: John Kessler

Executive Producer: Chris Peterson

ID# warbler-01-2008-05-21-KPLUwarbler-01b