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The Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata) is a songbird that makes an annual pilgrimage from Canada to South America. Physically, it is very similar to other warblers, as is its song. The Blackpoll Warbler has white bars on the top of the wings, while the undersides of the wings are all white. Some Blackpolls have a black crown that can be confused with Chickadees. They are small, typically only about 5 inches in length. They do not have a particularly melodic song, as it is rather lisping, but they are very chatty. In fact, they are often identified by song before they are even visible.

Despite those mundane facts, there is something truly extraordinary about this small bird. The following is an excerpt from an edition of "Pulse of the Planet" with host Jim Metzner:

"The Blackpoll Warbler is a tiny bird with an annual migration route of some 12,000 miles. [In September] it'll be making the journey from far western Alaska all the way across Canada and the Atlantic Ocean to South America. Scott Weidensaul, author of Living On the Wind, tells us more.

" 'The Blackpoll Warbler is only about four inches long. It weighs less than half an ounce. You could mail two of these things in an envelope for one 37-cent stamp. They're barely heavier than air. And, in fall, those particularly from western Canada and Alaska first migrate east, completely across the top of Canada for 1500 or 2000 miles until they wind up along the Atlantic seaboard of Canada and New England and the mid-Atlantic states. And then they wait for strong north-west winds, which will carry them out to sea, across the western Atlantic, and they finally make landfall on the coast of South America, the northern coast of South America. It's about an 80 to 90 hour journey, during which they will beat their wings three to four million times; they will have no rest, no food, no water. If they touch the water, they're dead. These birds are not waterproof; they can't float. And yet it works.'

‘And how does a Blackpoll Warbler prepare itself for the journey? Well, like anyone making ready to run a marathon, it eats. What they're fueling themselves with is fat. A blackpoll warbler is going to weigh about 15 grams, and it will add a little bit of extra weight in fat before it leaves-- and that fat is the fuel that will carry it across the Atlantic. If they were burning gasoline instead of fat, they'd be getting about 720,000 miles to the gallon."

If you can imagine running 4-minute miles for 80 hours, you would have an idea of what this dainty bird accomplishes. Truly an Olympian feat!! Unfortunately, these night-time migrators do have problems. Lights disorient them and cause them to get off-course. When confused by lighthouses or airports, they will often fly into each other, towers, or bridges and die. Also, hurricanes and other storms can blow them around with the same results. Another threat to their survival is the decline in the Red Spruce population, the favored nesting site of the blackpoll warbler. According to the Smithsonian, the population of Red Spruces in the northeast is decreasing due to acidic precipitation. The Blackpoll’s population is decreasing at a rate of about 1.5% per year in these regions. However, populations that nest further west are either increasing or holding steady.

The foregoing article was printed in the Back Bay Restoration Foundation NEWSLETTER dated July/August 2003.

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