WARBLER WAVE

The Sayres team up to celebrate warbler migration.

“In spring, as you nightly nap, / warblers flap / over oceans, lakes, / and mountains.” Striking photographs from both Sayres and a lyrical text introduce a favorite spectacle of the birding world. Each spring, these tiny birds travel north, some as far as Canada, returning to wintering grounds in the southeastern U.S. and Central and South America in fall. Touching lightly on the hazards the birds might encounter, the text emphasizes their beauty, variety, and behavior along the way. “Then bedraggled, they drop. / A refueling stop. / They must find food / or die.” The poem is broken up into words and short phrases set directly in contrasting type on the clearly reproduced images, which range from broad landscapes to impressive close-ups, some filling a page or a spread, others in a neatly arranged group. Four pages of expository backmatter for more able readers generally cover the wheres, whys, and hows of migration and attracting these travelers to your own garden. As there is so much information, some birding readers may find it surprising that the general term “warbler” is used throughout, even in the backmatter, although the book is specifically about New World wood warblers. Frustratingly for those who approach their world with a classifying mind, the photos have no labels, although identifications will be available on April Pulley Sayre’s website.

Share with very young children to nourish their senses of wonder.