Global Migrants--Blackburnian Warbler

I live in a river valley, right on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains in the Cumberland mountain range. One of the fun things about living here is the rich variety of flora and fauna and the wide diversity of climate and habitat. Besides all the plants and trees in successive bloom this time of year, it is peak migration season. Many migrants are newly arriving and others still passing through to their nesting grounds. Among these are the illusive woodland warblers, tiny little birds that you often hear but barely glimpse as they pass. But yesterday was an exceptional day. A Blackburnian Warbler, a striking little bird with a bright orange head, perched on a branch near me, flittered about and sang a whispery song that seemed to shake his whole body. Such a gift to our world. These are one of the many migrants that unite and brighten the globe with their journeys, in this case, as far south as southern Central America and northern South American in the winter, with some traveling as far north as Canada to summer breeding grounds.

Taking care of our earth and its creatures means taking care of each other.