One of Michigan’s most rare, iconic and celebrated bird species is the Kirtland’s warbler. Once nearly extinct in the 1970s, decades-long, targeted conservation efforts helped their population rebound.
In 2019, the bird was taken off the endangered species list, and a 2021 census reported a population of a little more than 2,000 breeding pairs.
But this year’s census revealed something concerning: a significant drop in warbler– nearly 700 fewer pairs.
The most likely reason for the decline in population is a decrease of young jack pine trees, the bird’s native habitat here in the state, said Erin Victory, the Kirtland’s warbler program coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
“Essentially there is less breeding habitat out there than there was 10 years ago,” Victory said.
Habitat in Michigan is especially important because 98% of the warblers live in the state, she said.
To combat the problem, swaths of older jack pine trees will be cut down and replaced with young ones.
“We have to get mature jack pine to be cleared off of a site in order to plant the young jack pine seedlings because this a bird that requires young jack pine to breed,” she said.
Victory said her team views the warbler as one of Michigan’s natural legacies they must work to preserve for future generations.
This story was brought to you as part of a partnership between WKAR and Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.
