As the chill of winter starts to fade, we're eagerly anticipating the return of warblers this spring. Currently, these tiny travelers are basking in warmer weather far from their breeding grounds up here and further north. Smart birds, indeed! In a few short months, they'll grace us once again, and we'll be out and about, binoculars in hand, searching for beauties like the Northern Parula, Prothonotary Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Kirtland's Warbler, and Nashville Warbler.

To celebrate their upcoming return, we're spotlighting our Warbler Fan design, shown here on a Bella+Canvas Jersey Short Sleeve T-Shirt from Zazzle. The design is also available other apparel styles and gifts on Amazon and Zazzle. This design showcases some of the most cherished warbler species that birdwatchers love to spot. It's a perfect way to show off your enthusiasm for these feathered wonders and keep the spirit of birding alive, even when the trees are still bare, and the air is crisp. Whether you're a seasoned birder or someone who simply enjoys the colorful spectacle these birds provide, this t-shirt is a wonderful nod to the joy and anticipation that comes with warbler season.

Today's highlighted t-shirt design features six of our Birdorable eastern Wood-Warblers. Have fun learning your warblers with this cute original design from Birdorable! They are: Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Wilson's Warbler and Kirtland's Warbler, shown here on a Ladies Performance Micro-Fiber T-Shirt:

For 18 days we're adding a new Birdorable bird every day as part of our Birdorable Bonanza 2010. Our third bird is the Prothonotary Warbler, a brilliant yellow in the forest. Prothonotary Warblers are among the most brightly-colored warblers. Males are brilliant yellow overall with blue-grey wings. Females are similar, but duller; both sexes have black beaks and bright black eyes. Prothonotary Warblers are named for their yellow coloring. Prothonotaries were clerks in the Roman Catholic Church who traditionally wore robes of deep, bright yellow.

prothonotary warbler by bmajoros

Tomorrow's bird is a large endangered bird that lives in South America. Can you guess what it is?

We recently added a few new wood-warblers to Birdorable, including the Nashville Warbler. Nashville Warblers are one of the more widespread North American warblers, migrating through much of the United States from their breeding grounds in southern Canada to their wintering grounds in Central America. Although named for the city where they were first noted for science, Nashville Warblers do not breed in Nashville - they only pass through during migration. Nashville Warblers are relatively easy to identify; although their grey-olive top and yellow bottom plumage is similar to the Tennessee and Orange-crowned Warblers, Nashvilles have prominent white eyerings which the others lack. Adult males also have an orange patch at the top of the head which is not always visible in the field, even though it's clear to see on our Birdorable. Have you ever seen a Nashville Warbler?

nashville-warbler-1 by bmajoros

We spent some time at the famous birding site Magee Marsh this past May. Magee Marsh is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Erie in Ohio. During migration, birds use Magee Marsh as a filling station or pitstop before crossing Lake Erie and continuing their journey. This "migrant trap" has been attracting birders for years. On Friday, May 14th, we and several hundred other birders became aware of a very rare sighting on the beach close to Magee Marsh. A Kirtland's Warbler! Our experience of seeing what was probably the most photographed Kirtland's Warbler in history (check out the camera clicks and flashes in the video below!) inspired us to make a Birdorable version of this special endangered bird.

What makes a sighting of the Kirtland's Warbler so special? According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources: The endangered Kirtland's warbler is one of the rarest members of the wood warbler (Parulidae) family. It is a bird of unusual interest for many reasons. It nests in just a few counties in Michigan's northern Lower and Upper peninsulas, in Wisconsin and the province of Ontario and, currently, nowhere else on Earth. Its nests generally are concealed in mixed vegetation of grasses and shrubs below the living branches of five to 20 year old jack pine (Pinus banksiana) forests. Kirtland's Warblers have been seen during migration at Magee Marsh before, but not every year. And the sighting is not usually shared with so many. It was wonderful to be among so many joyful birders on the Magee Marsh beach, watching that beautiful, special bird. The Kirtland's Warbler made its Birdorable debut on May 23rd.

We recently added a few new wood-warblers to Birdorable, including the Wilson's Warbler. Wilson's Warblers are named for the noted ornithologist Alexander Wilson. Wilson's Warblers are cute little yellow and olive birds. Males are unmistakable with their black caps. Here are some photos of this beautiful little bird, shared via Flickr.

Wilson's Warbler by Doug Greenberg

wilson's warbler (wilsonia pusilla) by revs&audy

Wilson's Warbler by Jerry Ting

The Yellow Warbler is a small songbird that winters in Central America and northern South America and breeds across most of the United States. This is our cute Birdorable version of the Yellow Warbler. Check out our Yellow Warbler t-shirts and gifts for birdwatchers and bird lovers.

The Common Yellowthroat is one of our favorite warblers. They have been arriving here in northern Illinois these last few weeks and we see and hear them every time we go on a walk. This morning we saw several of them at the Magic Hedge in Chicago. These beautiful birds breed in large parts of the United States and southern Canada and they spend the winter in Mexico and Central America. Males stand out with their large black mask and you can often hear their musical "Witchety, witchety, witchety" song.

Check out our cute Birdorable Common Yellowthroat apparel & gifts.

Photo by Frank Shufelt (source: Flickr)

Birdorable fan Ashira recently asked us for a 'blank' warbler coloring page, so she could color in different species. She shared her Bay-breasted Warbler and Magnolia Warbler coloring pages with us. Don't they look great?

You can see all of our warblers here: Birdorable warblers. If you've colored in any of our Birdorable coloring pages, we'd love to see what you've done! Thank you for sending these to us, Ashira!

Today's addition in our Birdorable Bonanza is the Golden-winged Warbler, a cute little warbler that breeds in eastern North America and in winter migrates as far south as Ecuador. It is also a very rare vagrant to western Europe, where it was once recorded at a supermarket parking lot in Maidstone, Kent, in 1989.

Photo by mesquakie8 (Source: Flickr)

Check out our other Birdorable birds for more warblers and other birds of North America. Here's a sneak peek at tomorrow's bird: