For Kirtland Warbler enthusiasts, we have the Kirtland Warbler toy bird with sound made by Wild Republic.
The Kirtland's warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii), named after Jared P. Kirtland, an Ohio doctor and amateur naturalist, is an
endangered songbird that nests in young jack pine forests. It is found primarily in Michigan, but some have been sighted nesting in Wisconsin and Canada. It winters in the Bahamas.
Kirtland’s warblers have bluish-gray backs with black streaks, yellow breasts, black side streaks and split white eye rings. They measure about six inches in length. Females are not as brightly colored as males.
This little warbler is primarily an insect eater, but will also feed on blueberries. Kirtland’s warblers forage for insects and larvae near the ground and in lower parts of pines and oaks. Their song is a loud chip-chip-chip-too-too-weet-weet
Kirtland’s warblers nest only on the ground near the lower branches and in large stands of young jack pines. The warbler’s cup-shaped nest is made of grasses and concealed by branches, overhanging grass and low shrubs. The clutch consists of four to five eggs. The female incubates the eggs for about 14 days. The male cares for her while she is tending the nest. Once the chicks hatch, they remain in the nest for another nine or ten days before fledging, or leaving the nest.
The endangered species status was given to the Kirtland’s warbler due to two significant threats. These birds are very picky about where they will nest. They require at least eight acres of dense YOUNG jack pine forest. They do not like the older trees, for some unknown reason. And in addition, they need at least 30 to 40 acres of jack pine forest to raise their young. Another concern is the parasitic brown-headed cowbird. These issues caused a drastic decline in numbers and led the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Kirtland’s warbler as an endangered species in 1967.
Cowbirds are parasitic nesters. Instead of building their own nests, they lay their eggs in other bird’s nests. When a female cowbird lays its egg in a nest, it often removes one of the host’s eggs. The cowbird egg hatches a day before the others, giving it a head start. The young cowbird is bigger and able to claim more food than other nestlings, and may crowd or push the other baby birds out of the nest.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the U.S. Forest Service and the Michigan Audubon Society, initiated an aggressive cowbird removal program in 1972 that has continued to this day. As a result, Kirtland’s warblers now have very good nesting success and enough young are being produced to increase the population.
Until 1995 Kirtland’s warblers had only been known to nest in the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Today, they also nest in the Upper Peninsula, and since 2007, have nested in Wisconsin and Canada. They migrate from their nesting grounds to the southeastern coast of the United States on their way to their Bahamas wintering grounds.
Happily the warbler conservation measures seem to be working. About 190,000 acres of public lands have been set aside by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the U.S. Forest Service specifically for Kirtland’s warbler management. From a low of 167 in 1974, the number of singing males increased to 1,803 in 2008.
Due to many dedicated people, the Kirtland’s warbler is meeting the recovery population goal. However, as a conservation-reliant species, the continued success of Kirtland’s warbler is dependent on annual habitat management and cowbird control. It is hoped that soon, provisions can be made to ensure that these management activities are continued into the future, allowing Kirtland’s warblers to be removed from the list of threatened and endangered species. Once these commitments are in place, we can be assured that Kirtland’s warbler will continue to search out young jack pine forests each spring for generations to come.
Information on the Kirtland's Warbler was provided by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered. Revised November 2010
Order: Passeriformes | Family: Parulidae | Genus: Dendroica | Species: D. kirtlandii
