Flamborough, ON. July 12, 2011. Reaching back into archives to find a Bird of the Day is usually reserved for dreary mid-winter, but these are different times. My birding activities remain constrained and this morning, out of idle curiosity, I opened my endless diary to today’s date and note that on July 12 2011, I wrote “…..(after cryptic notes as to the location)…..Prairie Warbler singing. Lots of observers and camera equipment.”
I remember it well. It was an interesting bird because Prairie Warblers are very uncommon hereabouts. Intrigued, I searched back through posts and diary entries to find that, that particular sighting pre-dated the start of My Bird of the Day by some six months. But then, nearly a year later (on May 29 2012), a Prairie Warbler returned to the same location, only this time MBotD existed and it made these pages http://www.mybirdoftheday.ca/2012/05/29/prairie-warbler/
The warbler’s chosen location was in scattered Hawthorn scrub under the lines of a hydro-electric transmission corridor. The big electricity utilities are required to keep the ground below the steel-towers clear, so every few years teams cut and clear all the underbrush. That put an end to it, 2012 was the last year for Prairie Warblers here. I hoped they’d return to choose somewhere close and have since looked for them in suitable locations nearby without success.
Gorgeous!