So Far to Sing

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches

    I subscribe to a small number of birding magazines and keep a record of articles about bird species. The most recent one in my collection about this bird, the Blackpoll Warbler, is from Living Bird’s 2024 winter issue. In one single night, 954 birds died after flying into the McCormick Place building in Chicago during a massive migration event on the night of October 4, 2023. Blackpolls were among the dead. 
    Fall migration is now in full swing, and it is dangerous, no doubt. Blackpoll Warblers carry the distinction of traveling further than any other warbler during migration – a whopping 1,800 miles from the Atlantic Coast to Columbia’s northern coast. And when they get to South America, they are greeted with the rainy season and large numbers of caterpillars to feast upon. 
    Sadly, these birds are in steep decline, losing approximately 71-90% of their population in the last 50-60 years. If trends continue, they are predicted to lose an additional 50% of their population in as little as 16 years.
    For a list of things you can do to help birds, visit https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/seven-simple-actions-to-help-birds/ 
    Stay wild, my friends.


References

All about Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2025). Blackpoll warbler, life history. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blackpoll_Warbler/lifehistory#conservation

Axelson, G. (2021, Winter). Where are they now? Living Bird, 40(1), 24.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2025). Seven simple actions to help birds. https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/seven-simple-actions-to-help-birds/

Cosier, S. (2024, Spring). After the Storm. Living Bird, 43(2), 52–59.

Devokaitis, M. (2021, Spring). Is bird migration getting more dangerous? Living Bird, 40(2), 48-53.

Copyright notification: The internet is a scary place. I have seen my artwork on unauthorized websites. This is called stealing, also known as copyright infringement. The only authorized websites allowed to display my artwork are www.beccamulenburg.com, www.beccamulenburg.blogspot.com, and galleries currently showing my work. Any other website, posting, sales of my work, or the like, is illegitimate and operating under copyright infringement which is against the law. This includes Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon (worldwide), and more. Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150,000 for each work infringed. Please be aware. Copyrights do not transfer with the sale of any of my artworks.

Location: Duluth, MN, USA

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