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January 2019 | Birder's Guide to Travel
warbler, which never made sense. The
chat's flight displays and vocalizations
are unlike any other Parulid. This bird
has recently been reclassified and placed
in its own family in between sparrows
and blackbirds.
5 |
Whooping Crane
Grus americana
Only when seen standing next to a
Sandhill Crane does one realize just how
tall these statuesque cranes are. Their re-
covery story alone makes them an ideal
candidate for this list. Most people see
them at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
in Texas, where they winter. We came
perilously close to losing this magnifi-
cent creature forever. Between hunting
and habitat loss, only 15 were left by the
early 1940s. Thanks to dedicated con -
servation efforts, there are now over 600,
with 400 migrating to central Canada to
breed. These cranes remain vulnerable
to disease, catastrophic weather events,
and ongoing climate change. According
to a recent blog by the National Wildlife
Federation, Whooping Cranes are mi-
grating to Canada as much as three
weeks earlier than they used to and re-
turning up to three weeks later.
6 |
Lewis's Woodpecker
Melanerpes lewis
With 21 species to choose from, it's hard
to imagine this list without at least one
woodpecker. I love and chose Lewis's
because it is so dissimilar from the rest
of its tribe. In his journals, Meriwether
Lewis described Lewis's Woodpecker
as flying like a crow and foraging like
a flycatcher. Indeed, Lewis's perch atop
trees, wires, and other high spots hunt-
ing for flying insects. They flash their
rich pink belly as they swoop on their
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Photo © Julio Mulero
Photo
©
Mick
Thompson
Photo © Diana Robinson
