Climate Change: A Monkey Wrench in the Delicate Balance of Nature
Hmmm, will instinct prevail and save ten of nature’s most delicate creatures?
I generally wrap up my bird watching season by early November. But diehard birders keep going all winter. One of the attractions of winter bird watching is finding the occasional bird that should be hundreds or thousands of miles south in warmer climates. These exceptions to the rule delight birdwatchers.
Right now there are ten Warblers – small, colourful and hyperactive birds that head south for the winter – comprising six species hanging out in a park in Oakville. To be specific, they are:
Yellow-rumped Warbler: Blue-gray above and white below with wing bars, a black face (males only) and a distinctive yellow rump. Birders affectionately refer to them as butter-butts. They are always on one of the first warblers to arrive in the spring and one of the last to leave in the fall.
Northern Parula: A handsome bluish warbler with a yellow throat (males have a brown bar across the throat) and a greenish-yellow patch on the back. They are known for their distinctive rising trill call that trips over the top: zeeeeeee-up!
Tennessee Warbler: One of the drabber members of the normally colourful warbler family. Mostly green on the back with a pale white eye stripe. They make up for their plain appearance with a distinctive, staccato call: ticka ticka ticka ticka swit swit chew chew chew chew.
Nashville Warbler: A personal favourite of mine. Olive green above, with a grayish head and white eye-ring, accentuated by bright yellow on the breast. It is one of the earlier Warblers to appear in the spring and always brings a smile to my face.
Orange-crowned Warbler: This dingy olive green warbler seldom lives up to its promising name. The thing orange crown by which they are named is rarely visible. Identifying one is more be default than by distinguishing marks. Too dingy for any other warbler? Must be an orange-crowned.
Wilson’s Warbler: Pretty much always one of, if the not the last, warbler species to arrive in the spring. Bright yellow below and greenish above. The males are easy to distinguish by their round black cap. If it’s a female, you’ll need to listen for its rapid little chatter – chi chi chi chi chi chet chet – to make a definitive identification.
All six of these species should be on their wintering grounds now anywhere from the Southern US to Central America and the West Indies. There is a chance that they will eventually get with the game plan and head south. But if the weather takes a sudden turn to sub-zero temperatures, they will all likely die as they are not adapted to that kind of weather.
The disturbing fact is that these “exceptions to the rule” are happening more and more often. Climate change is very likely the culprit. The late arrival of winter and unusually warm December temperatures seem to be messing with their migratory instinct.
These ten warblers are perilous metaphors for climate change and how it is throwing a monkey wrench into the delicate balance of nature. It may be a treat to see them in December. But the truth is we should be more disturbed than delighted.
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .
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