Kirtland Warblers

[Ron Scott]

Kirtland's Warbler Population at Record High.

This year's census of the Kirtland's Warbler, our rare and
endangered little bird of the jack pines, counted 1,791 singing males. That's the highest number since counts began in 1951.

The low point was 167, reached both in 1974 and 1987. So the birds have increased tenfold in the past 20 years. This is largely due to a recovery plan that has involved planting or seeding about 3,000 acres annually. It is a good combination of ommercial harvest and artificial regeneration, demonstrating that commercial timber harvest can be usedto the benefit of endangered species.

The warblers have spread from their traditional habitat in the northern Lower Peninsula to places in the Upper Peninsula, northern Wisconsin and Ontario. Definitely good news for these little birds.

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