Kirtland's warbler (''Setophaga kirtlandii''), also known in Michigan by the
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
jack pine bird,
or the jack pine warbler, is a small
songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...
of the
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Most ...
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
(
Parulidae
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Most ...
), named after
Jared Potter Kirtland
Jared Potter Kirtland (November 10, 1793 – December 10, 1877) was a naturalist, malacologist, and politician most active in the U.S. state of Ohio, where he served as a probate judge, and in the Ohio House of Representatives. He was also a ph ...
, an
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
doctor and amateur naturalist. Nearly extinct just 50 years ago, populations have recovered due to conservation efforts. It requires large areas, greater than 160 acres (65 hectares), of dense young jack pine for its breeding habitat. This habitat was historically created by wildfire, but today is created through the harvest of mature jack pine, and planting of jack pine seedlings.
The population of the
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
spends the spring and summer in their breeding range in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
or
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, especially the northeastern
Lower Peninsula of Michigan
The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the ...
, and winters in
The Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
,
Hispaniola
Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...
and the
Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...
.
Taxonomy
This species was first recorded at a relatively late date for a bird from the eastern USA.
The first specimen was shot at sea somewhere between the
Abaco Islands
Abaco is a variant Italian form of the Biblical name "Habakkuk" (but normally Abacùc or Abacucco).
Abaco may refer to:
People
*Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco (1675–1742), Italian composer and violinist
*Joseph Abaco (1710–1805), Belgian compose ...
and
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
in mid-October 1841. This collection, however, languished unrecognised as a new species in the private collection of
Samuel Cabot Jr.
Samuel Cabot Jr. (December 21, 1784 – September 2, 1863) was an American businessman in the early-nineteenth-century China Trade, a member of the wealthy and prominent Cabot family.
Early life
Cabot was born in Boston, Massachusetts on Decemb ...
, and was not known to be of this species until it made its way to the
Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in the 1860s.
The collection is attributed to
Samuel Cabot Jr.
Samuel Cabot Jr. (December 21, 1784 – September 2, 1863) was an American businessman in the early-nineteenth-century China Trade, a member of the wealthy and prominent Cabot family.
Early life
Cabot was born in Boston, Massachusetts on Decemb ...
himself,
[ a ]Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
merchant who had grown wealthy marketing imported Chinese goods, but the collector is more likely to be his son, the ornithologist
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
Samuel Cabot III
Samuel Cabot III (September 20, 1815 – April 13, 1885) was an American physician, surgeon, and ornithologist, as well as a member of the wealthy and prominent Cabot family.
Early life
Samuel Cabot III was born in Boston, Massachusetts on Sept ...
who was travelling through the region from Boston to the Yucatán
Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...
at this time.
Ten years later a second collection, a juvenile male, was shot near Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, in mid-May 1851. It was described as ''Sylvicola kirtlandii'' by Spencer Fullerton Baird
Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, Herpetology, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He ...
in 1852 on the basis of this specimen, which is thus now the holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
for the species. Baird attributed the collection to one Charles Pease in his 1852 description,[ but by 1858 he had changed his story and was attributing it to Kirtland (see below).] Pease was the son-in-law of Kirtland, and shot the bird on his father-in-law's farm.
In 1858 Baird moved the species, still only known from a single specimen, to the genus ''Dendroica
''Setophaga'' is a genus of birds of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It contains at least 33 species. The males in breeding plumage are often highly colorful. The ''Setophaga'' warblers are an example of adaptive radiation with the vario ...
'',[ where it remained until the 2010s.]
By 1865 only four individuals of this bird were known; Baird lists the male specimen from the Bahamas which he had found in Cabot collection, the holotype specimen from near Cleveland, a first female specimen shot in 1860 near Cleveland and preserved by one R. K. Winslow as reported in The Ohio Farmer, and a fourth exemplar which Winslow mentioned had also been killed near Cleveland but had not been preserved.[ Local naturalist ]Philo Romayne Hoy
Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt.
Philo's dep ...
also mentioned having possibly seen the species once near the village of Racine, Ohio
Racine is a village in Sutton Township, Meigs County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 675 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Racine is located at (38.969465, -81.915296).
According to the United States Census Bureau, ...
, in the 1850s.[
]
Etymology
Baird decided to name the bird after Jared Potter Kirtland
Jared Potter Kirtland (November 10, 1793 – December 10, 1877) was a naturalist, malacologist, and politician most active in the U.S. state of Ohio, where he served as a probate judge, and in the Ohio House of Representatives. He was also a ph ...
: "a gentleman to whom, more than any one living, we are indebted for a knowledge of the Natural History of the Mississippi Valley
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
".[ The ]generic epithet
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
''Setophaga
''Setophaga'' is a genus of birds of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It contains at least 33 species. The males in breeding plumage are often highly colorful. The ''Setophaga'' warblers are an example of adaptive radiation with the vario ...
'' is from the genitive case
In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...
of Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
σής, transliterated as ''sḗs'', meaning "moth", and ', meaning "eating".
Description
Male Kirtland's warblers have bluish-grey upper body parts, with dark streaks on the back, yellow bellies, and dark streaks on the flanks and sides. It has black lores (cheeks) and a distinctive, large and conspicuous broken white eye ring, which it only shares with '' Setophaga coronata''.[ Females and juveniles are similar, but are browner on the wings and back and are not as boldly or brightly marked. It frequently bobs its tail up and down, which is uncommon in northern warblers. At ][ and , it is the largest of the numerous warblers formerly classified in the genus ''Dendroica'' and is now the largest of the 35 or so species in the currently-accepted '']Setophaga
''Setophaga'' is a genus of birds of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It contains at least 33 species. The males in breeding plumage are often highly colorful. The ''Setophaga'' warblers are an example of adaptive radiation with the vario ...
'' genus.[ The Kirtland warbler has a wingspan of . Its mating song is a loud ''chip-chip-chip-too-too-weet-weet'' often sung from the top of a snag (dead tree) or northern pin oak ('']Quercus ellipsoidalis
''Quercus ellipsoidalis'', the northern pin oak or Hill's oak, is a North American species of oak tree native to the north-central United States and south-central Canada, primarily in the Great Lakes region and the Upper Mississippi Valley. It ...
'') clump. This song can be heard over 400m away in good conditions.[ In its overwintering grounds it does not sing but makes loud "''chip''" noises from low in dense bushes.]
The eggs are a "delicate" pinkish white when fresh, fading to a dull white after a time. There are a few scattered sprinkles in various shades of brown[ and pink, these sprinkles and blotches concentrated at the top][ or form a sort of wreath at the larger end.][ The egg is not very glossy.][ It is 18 by 14mm in size.][ The shell is very thin.][
]
Similar species
Baird compared and found it most similar to ''Setophaga coronata'', finding it best distinguishable by having a nearly uniformly yellow belly, no conspicuous yellow rump or crown, less black in the feathers of the crown, and a considerably larger and stouter bill and feet.[ Henninger mentions he finds it to have a certain resemblance to ''S. magnolia''.] In The Bahamas it may be misidentified with ''S. dominica flavescens''.[
]
Hybrids
In late October 1997 a large hybrid ''Setophaga'' warbler was netted in the low elevation dry scrublands of the southernmost Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
, which based on morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
* Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
* Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
(plumage colour and anatomical measurements of size) and geography was most likely a hybrid between ''S. kirtlandii'' and ''S. fusca''.[
]
Distribution
It was originally only known from Kirtland's home state of Ohio.[ In the mid 20th century the breeding range of Kirtland's warbler was reduced to a very limited area in the north of the ]Lower Peninsula of Michigan
The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the ...
. In recent years, breeding pairs have been found in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, and southern Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
due to the expanding population.[ The birds winter in ]Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, The Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
and the nearby Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...
, where they are found on all islands investigated.[ A number also overwinter in the ]Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
.[ Overwintering birds have been collected and sighted a number of times in ]Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, it has been recorded as a rare accidental on Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
and Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
,[ and there is an uncorroborated report from coastal ]Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.[ It has also been observed in the summer in ]Québec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
, although it is not known to breed there.
The birds first migrate from The Bahamas west to Florida and South Carolina in the second half of April to early May, and from there move further northwest and westwards until they reach the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, which they then followed upstream to the mouth of the Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
during May. They reached their breeding grounds early in June.[ They leave their breeding range between August and October.][
]
Ecology
Habitat
In their winter habitat, they have been found primarily in low "coppice" habitat, especially areas which have been cleared for slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...
agriculture but have regrown after abandonment (98% of all records), with a preference for dense shrubbery with small openings here and there, no canopy and low ground cover. It has otherwise been found in all habitats on the islands, including, albeit uncommonly, suburban gardens and Bahamian pineyards
The Bahamian pineyards are a tropical and subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Geography
The Bahamian pineyards cover an area of . Pineyards are found on four of the northern islands in the Ba ...
, with the exception of high coppice which has never been clear cut -it has never been seen here. With rare exceptions this bird is almost always sighted from the ground to 3m high (98%).[
For breeding habitat it requires large areas of young jack pine ('']Pinus banksiana
Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...
'') on sandy soil. Kirtland's warblers occur in greatest numbers in large areas that have been clear cut or where a large wildfire has occurred. For breeding they require stands of young (6 to 20 year old, 2–4 m high) jack pine
Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...
trees.[ Other common plants in this habitat are blueberry ('']Vaccinium angustifolium
''Vaccinium angustifolium'', commonly known as the wild lowbush blueberry, is a species of blueberry native to eastern and central Canada (from Manitoba to Newfoundland) and the northeastern United States, growing as far south as the Great Smoky ...
''), sweet fern (''Comptonia peregrina
''Comptonia peregrina'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myricaceae. It is the only extant (living) species in the genus '' Comptonia'', although a number of extinct species are placed in the genus. ''Comptonia peregrina'' is native ...
''), Canada mayflower (''Maianthemum canadense
''Maianthemum canadense'' (Canadian may-lily, Canada mayflower, false lily-of-the-valley, Canadian lily-of-the-valley, wild lily-of-the-valley,, p.105 two-leaved Solomon's seal)
is an understory perennial flowering plant, native to Canada and the ...
'') and various grasses. Although it was initially believed to exclusively require jack pine stands, more recent research has found that the bird will also breed in some places in young stands of red pine (''Pinus resinosa
''Pinus resinosa'', known as red pine (also Norway pine in Minnesota), is a pine native to North America.
Description
Red pine is a coniferous evergreen tree characterized by tall, straight growth. It usually ranges from in height and in trun ...
'') of 10 to 15 years old.[ When the pine stands grow so tall so as to lose their lowest branches near the forest floor, the environment no longer provides sufficient cover.][ Such stands are ideally densely stocked with young pines, but also contain small occasional patches of open areas or with sparse tree cover.][
]
Controversy
The overwintering habitat has been contentious with researchers disputing each others work. Mayfield (1992, 1996) first stated that the bird inhabits the shrub layer. Lee ''et al''. (1997) also believed that the warbler inhabits shrubs, but they concluded that the species is entirely dependent on pineyards, stating that before the advent of deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
of the high coppice after the colonisation of The Bahamas by pre-colonial Lucayan people
The Lucayan people ( ) were the original residents of the Bahamas before the European conquest of the Americas. They were a branch of the Taínos who inhabited most of the Caribbean islands at the time. The Lucayans were the first indigenous Ame ...
s, the bird must have been restricted to the northwestern islands which harbour these pineyards and absent from central, eastern and southern islands such as Eleuthera
Eleuthera () refers both to a single island in the archipelagic state of The Commonwealth of the Bahamas and to its associated group of smaller islands. Eleuthera forms a part of the Great Bahama Bank. The island of Eleuthera incorporates the s ...
. Sykes and Clench (1998) on the other hand, basing their analysis on 96 unambiguous records of both collected specimens and observations on thirteen different islands, as well as almost 451 observations over three months of the same two banded individuals on Eleuthera, found themselves unable to agree with this, finding that by far most records were from regrown coppice after abandonment of agricultural fields.[ They, as well as Mayfield, state many of the earlier records used by Lee ''et al''. were tainted by misidentification with ''S. dominica flavescens'', a similar-looking subspecies which was not adequately described or illustrated in almost all guide books at the time.][ A few months later the same three authors as in the 1997 work, Haney ''et al''. (1998) published a repudiation of Sykes and Clench based on 101 warbler records, wherein they claimed the warblers do not prefer scrub coppice and reiterated their earlier assertion that the primary habitat of the birds was pineyards. They went even further in concluding that the world population of the warbler was not limited by the situation in their breeding range in Michigan, but that historic fluctuations in their population were instead being determined by the status of the pineyards in Bahamas.][ A detailed study by Wunderle ''et al''. (2010) using a much larger sample size of new data from 153 capture sites and 499 observations, and investigations of the diet, found that Sykes and Clench had been correct, and there was no validity to the assertions of Lee, Walsh-McGehee and Haney.][ Jones ''et al''. (2013), researching the warbler on an island where pineyards had never grown, hypothesised that a sampling bias for birds in pineyards had skewed the results of the research presented by Haney ''et al''.][ Despite the evidence, ]Birdlife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
, which performs the IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
assessments, has consistently copied and pasted their assertion of preference for accepting the Haney ''et al''. interpretation, because they state the conclusion that "changes in population have occurred contemporaneously with the degradation and recovery of the north Bahamas pine ecosystem" is more compelling than that the recovery efforts in Michigan were having these effects on the population size, although they also contradict themselves in the same assessments.
Haney ''et al''. stated that another reason that this warbler was most likely restricted to the pineyards habitat was because there was no low coppice habitat available until the arrival of the first human colonists on the islands, the Lucayans some 1,000 years ago, because there was no mechanism that could destroy the natural high coppice of the islands.[ However, in 2007 Wunderle ''et al'' pointed out an obvious natural destructive force which might produce such young successional habitat, ]hurricanes
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
. Although they had no empirical evidence, they theorised that perhaps this warbler species had specifically evolved to take advantage of such weather phenomena.
Behaviour
Yearlings and first-time breeders explore to find new breeding grounds,[ but ringed males have been observed to loyally return to the same nesting locality years after year; a male first ringed at ]CFB Petawawa
Garrison Petawawa is located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by the Canadian Army.
Garrison facts
The Garrison is located in the Ottawa Valley in Renfrew County, northwest of Ottawa along the western bank of the Ottawa ...
in Ontario in 2006 returned for six consecutive years. This individual is estimated to have reached the age of nine, but in general the species are thought to have much shorter lifespans; males usually become four years old, and females are thought to only survive for 2.5 years on average.
One study found that 85% of the singing males are able to attract mates.[
A warbler occupies a breeding territory of 2.7 to 3.4ha depending on location, but a larger wintering territory of 6.9 to 8.3ha depending on the island.][ They construct their nests on the ground, well concealed by lowest living branches of the jack pines and other vegetation.][ The nest is usually at the base of a tree, next to a down log or other structure. Eggs are laid in May to June.]
Diet
It depends heavily during overwintering on the berries of lantana
''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...
, which typically is an extremely common shrub a few years after agriculture has been abandoned in a particular field.[ It is also said to eat the berries of ]black torch
''Black Torch'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsuyoshi Takaki. It was serialized in Shueisha's monthly magazine ''Jump Square'' from December 2016 to March 2018, and later on the digital platform ''Shōnen Jump+'' from A ...
[ and ]snowberry
''Symphoricarpos'', commonly known as the snowberry, waxberry, or ghostberry, is a small genus of about 15 species of deciduous shrubs in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. With the exception of the Chinese coralberry, '' S. sinensis'', whi ...
.[ Of 331 observations of two warblers on Eleuthera in 1986, 76% were of foraging in lantana, 8% were in '' Tournefortia volubilis'', 4% in snowberry, 3.5% in '' Acacia choriophylla'', 3.3% in black torch, 1.8% in wild lime, '']Zanthoxylum fagara
''Zanthoxylum fagara'' or wild lime, is a species of flowering plant that—despite its name—is not part of the genus ''Citrus'' with real limes and other fruit, but is a close cousin in the larger citrus family, Rutaceae. It is native to sout ...
'', and 1% ''Casuarina equisetifolia
''Casuarina equisetifolia'', common names ''Coastal She-oak'' or ''Horsetail She-oak'' (sometimes referred to as the Australian pine tree or whistling pine tree outside Australia), is a she-oak species of the genus ''Casuarina''. The native ...
''. Plants they were found foraging in at less than 1% were '' Bumelia salicifolia'', ''Pithecellobium keyense
''Pithecellobium keyense'', commonly called Florida Keys blackbead, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family (Fabaceae). It is native to the West Indies of North America, where it found in The Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, the Mexican state ...
'', '' Tabebuia bahamensis'' and '' Scleria lithosperma''.[ In its summering range this species feeds on blueberries and on insects such as spittlebugs, aphids and ants.][
]
Interactions with other species
Jack pine is a species of somewhat smallish pine with a distribution that spans almost across North America.[ Its cones open only after trees have been cleared away by forest fires or, after logging, in the summer sun. The ice age climate was somewhat drier overall and almost all of its present-day range was covered by solid ice as late as 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.] Pollen analysis shows that the jack pine was almost non-existent between the Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
and the Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
during this period, with the possible exception of tiny isolated relict populations, which presents a mystery as to where the Kirtland's warbler survived during this period. Mayfield suggests that the species was restricted during this age to the southeastern Atlantic coast, which might explain its modern overwintering range in the Bahamas as opposed to Mexico, as well as why it appears to be closer related to Caribbean warbler species. The jack pine and the warbler likely immigrated into the Midwest 10,000 years ago.[
Without human intervention, the warblers are severely impacted by ]nest parasitism
Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...
by the brown-headed cowbird
The brown-headed cowbird (''Molothrus ater'') is a small, obligate brood parasitic icterid native to temperate and subtropical North America. It is a permanent resident in the southern parts of its range; northern birds migrate to the southern ...
. Blue jay
The blue jay (''Cyanocitta cristata'') is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations are a ...
s prey on the nests and are a nuisance species because individual jays repeatedly allow themselves to get caught in the same traps used to exterminate the cowbirds of the nesting region.
Conservation
Decline
As global climate changed after the ice age through the last 10 millennia or so, jack pine, and consequently also Kirtland's warbler, shifted their habitat north.[ The cold-hardy jack pine now grows as far as north as the ]Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
.
The Kirtland's warbler has historically always been rare, with the species first recorded quite late for a bird from the eastern USA between the 1840s to 1851, only four or five birds seen in the first two decades after, and the breeding grounds and first nest not recorded in 1903 in Michigan.[
How a species with such narrow habitat requirements was able to exist is still somewhat of a mystery. It may be that during the ice ages, which lasted much longer than ]interglacials
An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene in ...
, it had a more stable distribution and habitat, and the species exists as a relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.
Biology
A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas.
Geology and geomorphology
In geology, a r ...
during geologically brief periods of warming global temperatures. It is quite possible colonisation by Europeans actually temporarily boosts populations of the bird. Most of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan
The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the ...
was once covered in vast tracts of old growth white pine (''Pinus strobus
''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lake ...
''), the final stage of succession in the woodlands of that region, but these were all harvested by the early 19th century for construction in the growing cities and towns around the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
and along the East Coast. This created the conditions for the extensive woodlots of jack pine, a pioneer species
Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire.
Pioneer flora
Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so m ...
, found today.
In 1871, fed by dry conditions, high winds and piles of logging slash, a massive forest fire swept through lower Michigan, with another great fire in The Thumb
The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...
of the Lower Peninsula, and a further huge forest fire on the Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
-Michigan border and yet another around Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...
. In 1881 another massive conflagration burned down the forests in The Thumb. These massive fires eliminated the last of the original white pine woodlands of Michigan. This period also happens to be the time when the most Kirtland's warblers ever were taken, although in this period ornithologists were as yet unaware where it bred, and almost all these birds were taken in The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos or along the migration route. This period was most probably the heyday of the warbler. Where in the 1850s and 1860s zero warblers were seen or killed in The Bahamas by the collector Henry Bryant (naturalist)
Henry Bryant (May 12, 1820 – February 2, 1867) was an American physician and natural history, naturalist.
Early life
Bryant was born in Boston, and graduated from Harvard University in 1840, and then followed this from a degree at Harvard Me ...
, despite him spending much time searching for the birds,[ in the 1880s and 1890s many dozens of warblers were recorded on almost all of the islands. ]Charles Johnson Maynard
Charles Johnson Maynard (May 6, 1845 – October 15, 1929) was an American naturalist and ornithologist born in Newton, Massachusetts. He was a collector, a taxidermist, and an expert on the vocal organs of birds. In addition to birds, he also s ...
collected 24 from New Providence
New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...
during one two and a half month excursion in 1884.[ Maynard was a prolific collector, securing in this and subsequent years another ten on the same island almost a dozen on ]Eleuthera
Eleuthera () refers both to a single island in the archipelagic state of The Commonwealth of the Bahamas and to its associated group of smaller islands. Eleuthera forms a part of the Great Bahama Bank. The island of Eleuthera incorporates the s ...
, and a further two on Cat Island, but many other collectors were able to obtain quite a number of specimens in The Bahamas during these decades.[
In 1903 the ]taxidermist
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proce ...
Norman Asa Wood was presented with a specimen by a student at the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, and promptly travelled to the area it was killed, where he found the first nest ever discovered that July near the banks of the Au Sable River. He also found a second nest. Both nests had chicks and one held a single unhatched egg. Wood killed all the birds he could (eight managed to escape his gun), and secured the nests and egg. He tried to rear some of the chicks, but these soon died. Including chicks, he returned to the city with fifteen birds, the greatest bounty ever collected in the USA. It was thus one of the last bird species of North America to have its nesting habits discovered. The following year Edward Arnold travelled to a nearby locality in June and found the third nest ever, this one with four eggs. He was able to capture both the male and the female, the female on the nest simply with his hands.[ Including these, 25 birds had been taken in Michigan by 1904, and another eight recorded, which made it clear that Michigan was in fact the epicentre of the breeding range of this warbler.][
Considering the ]vernacular name
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
of this bird was "jack pine bird" in Michigan,[ Wood was certainly was not the first to discover that this species is specifically resident in jack pines, but in 1904 he was the first to publish these findings in a scientific journal. Woods also noted that, even in its breeding haunts, the bird was quite rare, and was not present in all areas of jack pine.][ This same year the migration route was first detailed in a paper by Charles C. Adams. Adams used dates of records of this bird in different states to show it migrated according to a very tight schedule, but used quite a broad route north spanning from the ]Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
to South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
. He thought this might indicate that there were more breeding grounds to the west and east than those in Michigan which Woods had publicised.[ The records Adams was using are from the 1880s and 1890s and birds were shot as far west as Missouri and Minnesota, areas where the species has not been seen since.][
In the 1920s the recognised expert on this species was a ]Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
teenager named Nathan F. Leopold -an exceptionally intelligent and extremely wealthy young man who soon became more infamous as a child-murderer with a vainglorious belief in his status as Übermensch
The (; "Overhuman") is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' (german: Also sprach Zarathustra), Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the as a goal for humanity to set for itse ...
in the vein of Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
. Leopold studied at the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
under Woods among others, obtaining a degree with honours while still a teen, and was had inherited from Woods a great interest in this rare bird, having his chauffeur drive him and his ornithology enthusiast companions to the Michigan pine woods to obtain specimens and make observations. In his scientific journal articles he published a number of important discoveries. One was that the age of the jack pines in a stand is the most pertinent determinant in the suitability of a particular terrain as a breeding habitat for the species, and another discovery was that the population was subject to a deleterious brood parasitism
Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...
by the brown-headed cowbird
The brown-headed cowbird (''Molothrus ater'') is a small, obligate brood parasitic icterid native to temperate and subtropical North America. It is a permanent resident in the southern parts of its range; northern birds migrate to the southern ...
.
Kirtland's warbler is highly susceptible to nest parasitism by this cowbird.[ Brown-headed cowbirds feed mostly on seeds from grasses and weeds, with some crop grains. Insects such as grasshoppers and beetles, often caught as cows and horses stir them into movement, make up about a quarter of a cowbird's diet. Development and fragmentation of forests in the eastern United States have allowed brown-headed cowbirds to greatly expand their range eastward. One study from 1931 to 1971 found 59% of the warbler nests parasitised in comparison to 5% of the nests in the study area of all other bird species combined, another study found 48% from 1903 to 1949; another found 86% rate of parasitism; and a last study found 69% of the warbler nests afflicted from 1957 to 1971. In 1971 the third decennial census counted 201 singing males, whereas the 1961 census had found 501 breeding pairs, showing a 60% decrease in population over the 1960s.][
The first census of the species was performed in 1951, organised in part by a young Harold F. Mayfield, who would eventually spend the rest of life researching this species. 432 males were counted, half of these in just two areas where fires had raged in the 1930s. The second of what was supposed to be a decennial census program in 1961 showed an increase in population, with 502 males counted; many of these were still found at the sites of the two 1930s fires, a quarter was now resident at the site of a large fire from 1946.][
The population reached a low of 167 singing males in 1974,][ and in 1994 only of suitable breeding habitat was available.]
Recovery
It was listed as endangered in the USA in 1967. In 1971 a recovery plan was developed. The plan entailed the management of state and federal land through clear cutting, controlled burning and planting jack pine to expand suitable nesting habitat for Kirtland's warbler, as well as having the government acquire more land for this purpose. The other components were to limit public access land during nesting season, to conduct annual censuses of the warbler population, and lastly to intensively control the cowbird population.[
A 1966 study found that shooting and trapping the cowbirds could reduce parasitism from 65% to 21%, and in 1972 cowbird control efforts commenced. The cowbird traps were 4 by 4 ft. and 6 ft. high with a recessed entrance hole at the top, and worked using sunflower seed bait, tape recorders playing birdsongs and decoy cowbirds which attracted more cowbirds. Cowbirds are asphyxiated in plastic bags using car exhaust fumes. Once a day during breeding season, or when the traps had collected 30 to 40 birds, the traps were serviced to destroy cowbirds. Other trapped bird species were banded and released, and some twelve cowbirds were left in the trap as decoys. Less cowbirds are caught as the season progresses, and radio-tracked cowbirds indicate that females are sedentary during the season. In the first year, 1972, 2,200 cowbirds were eliminated using a single trap, and only 6% of the warbler nests in the region were parasitised compared to 69% previously. Average clutch size in the region almost doubled. In 1973 the program was expanded to four traps, which caught 3,300 cowbirds and resulted in no parasitism that year. That same year 216 singing male warblers were recorded an increase of 9.2% from the 200 males recorded in 1972, and the first increase recorded ever. Thus the control program was considered a success, and the following year 22 cowbird traps were deployed, removing over 4,000 cowbirds across the region. Although only 167 singing male warblers were recorded in 1974, nevertheless the large number of fledglings meant the traps were effective.][ As of 2016, the cowbird traps still capture 4,000 cowbirds a season.] Effective blue jay management involves transporting a few hundred jays a year dozens of miles away to be released.[
Today the habitat of Kirtland's warbler is no longer being preserved by prescribed burns as these have proved too difficult to control (a forest service employee named James Swiderski was immolated during one of these burns in 1980),][Radio La]
Weighing Good Intentions
/ref> and the species is entirely dependent on staggered harvests by the timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
industry for its survival. Some 76,000 hectares are reserved for this purpose on the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, of which some 15,000 are maintained as young jack pine breeding habitat for the bird.[ The ]Michigan Department of Natural Resources
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor a ...
, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
and the U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
coordinate the clear cutting of tracts of 50 year old jack pines on 23 Kirtland's warbler management units. These managed units total . After cutting new trees are planted in a specified pattern to mimic the natural habitat the warbler needs, with clearings and dense thickets.
In 2004 Kirtland's warbler had been observed in Ontario[ and the ]Upper Peninsula of Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...
, and rarely recorded in northwest Ohio, where the numbers of recorded birds are increasing.[Ohio Ornithological Society (2004)]
Annotated Ohio state checklist
Beginning in 2005 a small number have been observed in Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. In 2007 three Kirtland's warbler nests were discovered in central WisconsinUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
(2007)
Kirtland's Warbler 2007 Nesting Season Summary
. Version of 2007-DEC-10. Retrieved 2008-FEB-19. and one at CFB Petawawa in Ontario,CFB Petawawa
Garrison Petawawa is located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by the Canadian Army.
Garrison facts
The Garrison is located in the Ottawa Valley in Renfrew County, northwest of Ottawa along the western bank of the Ottawa ...
(2007)
Canada's Rarest Nesting Bird found at CFB Petawawa
Version of 2007-Nov-01. Retrieved 2008-FEB-19. providing a sign that they are recovering and expanding their range once again. The Wisconsin population continues to grow, with 53 individuals and twenty nests recorded in 2017.
In the IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
the Kirtland's warbler was classified as vulnerable to extinction since 1994, but was listed as near threatened
A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...
in 2005 due to its recovery. Although there seemed to be no more than 5,000 Kirtland's warblers as of late 2007, four years earlier they had numbered just 2500–3000. Since the recovery plan began in the 1970s, the numbers of Kirtland's warbler have steadily risen, with an estimated population of 5,000 in 2016. A world total of 2,365 singing males were reported in the 2015 census.[ By 2018 there were an estimated 2,300 pairs and the population had continued to grow over the previous sixteen years according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region.] In 2019 the population has been above the recovery goal of 1,000 pairs for seventeen years.[
The birds depend on The Bahamas and adjacent territories during winter; in 1998 their winter habitat was judged to be extremely widespread and it was calculated that there is enough area and habitat in the Bahamas to house a population of roughly more than 500,000 birds. The most destructive threat in the winter range are thought to be house cats, at least on some islands.][
If Haney ''et al''. are correct in arguing that the species does not overwinter in scrub coppice habitats in The Bahamas, but instead in pineyards, and the abundance of this species is in fact limited by changes in this pineyard habitat, the conservation efforts in Michigan may be insufficient for species recovery.] Some Michigan locals have questioned the cost and point of the program.[ Habitat and cowbird management cost $1 million per year as of 2003. In the 1990s this was garnered from a ]carbon sequestration
Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. Carbon dioxide () is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes. These changes can be accelerated through changes in land ...
fund, but that source of financing has been terminated. Management costs were estimated at $1.5 to 2 million per year in 2008,[ however, the payments by timber companies for the sale of jack pine for manufacturing paper and wood pulp offsets some costs,][ and the species brings bird-watching tourists to the region which is an economic boon to local businesses.][ Survival of this species will require management that will need to continue in perpetuity. An endowment fund to ensure a permanent funding source for the species has been discussed as an option.][
There is a Kirtland's warbler festival in ]Roscommon, Michigan
Roscommon ( ) is a village in Roscommon County the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 981 at the 2020 census. Roscommon is the county seat of Roscommon County.
History
The community of Roscommon was first settled as early as 1845 by Ge ...
, which is sponsored in part by Kirtland Community College
Kirtland Community College is a public community college in Grayling, Michigan.
History
Kirtland was founded in 1966 under the provisions of Michigan's Public Act 188 of 1955, it is the state's largest community college district geographically ...
(which is named in honour of the bird). The festival is held annually during the first full weekend of June.
Canada
Until 2007 Kirtland's warblers had never been known to have bred in Canada,[ with the exception of one ambiguous possible record from near ]Midhurst, Ontario
Midhurst, Ontario is a small community in the Township of Springwater, Ontario, Canada and the seat of Simcoe County. With nearly 3,000 people, it is the largest population centre in Springwater.
It is home to the Barrie Baycats of the Interco ...
in 1945. The first bird was collected in the country in 1900 when a specimen was secured on Toronto Island
The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...
.[ The bird was then seen in the country in 1916 at the army base of ]CFB Petawawa
Garrison Petawawa is located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by the Canadian Army.
Garrison facts
The Garrison is located in the Ottawa Valley in Renfrew County, northwest of Ottawa along the western bank of the Ottawa ...
by a military dentist, Paul Harrington; the same dentist made the third sighting of Canada at the same location in 1939,[ and in the next 65 years a bit more than two dozen sightings of the bird were made in the country, although only a few are verified.][ In 1979 it was declared an endangered species of Canada on the basis that it may have once bred in ]Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. In 2006 suddenly three birds were recorded at Petawawa, and the subsequent year the first ever nest was recorded at the same locality.[ The habitat at this location appears to have been maintained due to fires stemming from military training exercises.][ After 2007 the bird has bred almost every year at Petawawa, with the birds here fledged 27 young by 2014,][ and it has been reported at additional locations in central Ontario.][
The government of Ontario published a recovery strategy for the Kirtland’s warbler in 2016.][ A new mixed red and jack pine stand was planted at a location in ]Simcoe County
Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the ...
in 2018 in the hopes of attracting the warbler, of which a sighting in the area had earlier been reported.[ Red pine was interspersed with the jack pine because the latter is relatively worthless as lumber, and it was hoped this configuration would make the project more economically sustainable.][
]
Delisting
Prior to being delisted from the in 2019,[https://www.fws.gov/Midwest/endangered/birds/Kirtland/index.html, Kirtland's warbler (''Setophaga kirtlandii'') Status: Delisted] the Kirtland's warbler had been listed as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...
of 1973.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species Profile for Kirtland's Warbler
. Ecos.fws.gov. Retrieved on 2013-04-03. Since delisting, continued monitoring is being used to ensure that the species remains secure.[
]
Protected areas
It has been regularly recorded in the following protected areas
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
:
*Abaco National Park
Abaco National Park is a national park in South Abaco, the Abaco Islands, the Bahamas. The park was established in 1994 and has an area of .
Flora and fauna
The park contains of pine forest; Caribbean pine. Avian wildlife at the park includes ...
, Abaco, The Bahamas.[
*]Algonquin Provincial Park
Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Ontario, Canada, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Cana ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada.[
*Hartwick Pines State Park, Michigan, USA.][
*Huron-Manistee National Forests, Michigan, USA.][
*Lucayan National Park, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas.][
*Point Pelee National Park, Essex County, Ontario, Canada.][
*Rand Nature Centre (as Pinelands Wilderness Sanctuary), Grand Bahama, The Bahamas.][
*Tawas Point State Park, Michigan, USA.][
]
See also
* Mutualism (biology)
* Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area
References
Further reading
*Clench, Mary Heimerdinger (1973). "The Fall Migration Route of Kirtland's Warbler". ''Wilson Bulletin'' 85 (4): 417–428.
*
*Mayfield, Harold (1960). "The Kirtland's Warbler". ''Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin'' (40): 1–242.
* .
External links
*
* http://www.uptownupdate.com/2015/05/rare-bird-alights-at-montrose-harbor.html
Kirtland's warbler
at All About Birds
* [http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/19903100.htm Stamps]
{{Authority control
Setophaga, Kirtland's warbler
Native birds of the Eastern United States
Environment of Michigan
Endangered fauna of the United States
Birds described in 1852, Kirtland's warbler
ESA endangered species
Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird, Kirtland's warbler