Department of Natural Resources officials today released annual survey information indicating the state’s population of the endangered Kirtland’s warbler continues to increase.
Biologists, researchers and volunteers in Michigan observed 1,697 singing males during the official 2007 survey period, up from 1,478 males observed in 2006. The 2007 population represents the largest number of singing males recorded since monitoring began in 1951. The lowest numbers were recorded in 1974 and 1987, when only 167 singing males were found.
This year, singing males (numbers in parentheses) were found in 12 northern Lower Peninsula counties: Alcona (175), Clare (147), Crawford (290), Grand Traverse (1), Iosco (238), Kalkaska (4), Montmorency (14), Ogemaw (529), Oscoda (198), Otsego (43), Presque Isle (6), and Roscommon (20). Surveyors identified 32 singing males in five Upper Peninsula counties: Baraga (1), Chippewa (8), Delta (7), Marquette (8), and Schoolcraft (8).
Although Kirtland’s warblers have begun to expand into new areas, the core of the Kirtland’s warbler population remains dependent on northern Michigan’s jack pine barrens ecosystem for nesting habitat. The warblers nest on the ground and typically select nesting sites in stands of jack pine between four and 20 years old. Historically, these stands of young jack pine were created by natural wildfires that frequently swept through northern Michigan. Modern fire suppression programs altered this natural process, reducing Kirtland’s warbler habitat. The result was that the population of Kirtland’s warblers declined to the point that they were listed as endangered.
To mimic the effects of wildfire and ensure the future of this species, the DNR and its partners at the state and federal level manage the forests through a combination of clearcutting, burning, seeding and replanting to promote warbler habitat. Approximately 3,000 acres of jack pine trees are planted or seeded annually on state and federal lands, primarily for the purpose of providing habitat for Kirtland’s warblers.
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