According to scientists at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, one half million golden-winged warblers used to make the annual migration from their breeding grounds in the midwestern United States to their winter homes in Central and South America. Now researchers estimate that the number of golden-winged warblers that make the annual migration is down to about 200,000.
And what is most alarming is that no one seems to know why the population of these birds is in sharp decline. The Golden-Winged Warbler Working Group is an international consortium trying to discern why there are fewer birds. Scientists from Canada, the United States, and Colombia are working on the mystery.
Scientists are capturing the birds in nets and examining the biochemical makeup of the birds’ feathers in an attempt to determine if there are any environmental toxins that may be contributing to the birds’ decline.
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Theodore Cross, the founder of Birders United and the author of Birds of the Sea, Shore, and Tundra, has authored a new book which is available from W.W. Norton Company. Cross’ photographs include birds from four continents. From the tundra of eastern Siberia to the tropical islands of the South Pacific, Cross has captured elegant and unusual birds—from auklets and egrets to gannets and sanderlings—in peak action, be they courting, landing on a perch, plunge diving, or engaged in aerobatics.
The 179 color photographs in this 344-page book are accompanied by gracefully written field notes and fascinating accounts of the birds’ habits and habitat.
You can obtain more information or order the book by clicking here.
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