For the Birds
Summer 2015
In 1994, the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy (MWC) and Trout Unlimited (TU) proposed a novel idea: creating Kirtland’s warbler habitat on private land. Until then, all habitat management for the federally listed endangered species had been conducted on national or state forestland. It also seemed odd to some that TU, an organization dedicated to conservation of coldwater streams and trout, would embark on a project that was “for the birds.” But it was a long-considered decision. The concept had been discussed since the 1970s when a TU-sponsored study of 300 acres of uplands owned by the organization along the Ausable River in Crawford County noted that the best use of the jack pine-dominated property might eventually involve Kirtland’s warbler management.
The Kirtland’s warbler is a small, blue-gray and yellow, sparrow-sized bird that usually nests on the ground on well-drained sand under dense stands of jack pines. The trees must be young—between five and 20 feet high, with branches that extend to the ground. Historically, these stands were maintained by naturally occurring wildfires that frequently swept through large areas of northern Michigan. Fire suppression programs altered this natural process, reducing the Kirtland’s warbler habitat.
Except for a relatively few birds in the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin, the world’s entire population of the Kirtland’s warbler nests on jack pine plains in the northeast Lower Peninsula. In most years, more than 80 percent of breeding pairs have been found in just three counties—Oscoda, Ogemaw, and Crawford. Researchers began counting singing males in 1951; a low of 167 were recorded in 1987.
TU’s 300-acres of over-mature jack pine seemed like a great site to help out an endangered species. Although a few biologists questioned whether significant results could be expected, a plan was developed through TU’s National Property Management Board. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Detroit Edison, and the DNR joined TU and the MWC as partners in the project. The jack pine was cut to prepare the land, then 2-year-old pines were planted 1,100 to the acre. Usually, trees are planted either in rows or randomly. In this 300-acre project, they were planted in wavy, parallel bands to form figure eights. This pattern mimics how jack pines grow after a wildfire.
The proof was in the feathers. Four nesting pairs were found on the site in 2001, then as the planted jack pines began to reach the favored height, 12 nesting pairs were found on the land in 2002. A couple of years later, 16 pairs were detected, and in 2005 the number of singing males (the estimator for nesting pairs) shot up to 27.
The site continued to get high use by Kirtland’s warblers through 2008 when the population of the Kirtland’s warbler reached the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s “Recovered Level.” That made the tiny bird eligible for possible de-listing as a federal and state endangered species. The 2008 tally of 1,791 singing males was the highest number since monitoring began (in 1951) and more than ten times the low number recorded in 1987.
The good news followed four decades of adding suitable habitat through combinations of cuttings, re-plantings, and/or prescribed burning. The MWC contributed to a few of such projects. At the peak of the recovery effort, almost 3,000 acres of jack pines were planted or seeded annually on state and federal lands. By comparison, the 300-acre project started in 1994 along the Ausable River might seem small. But like the restoration of wetlands, prairies, and short stretches of streams, the value of projects lay in their cumulative total and local impact. To the casual hiker, canoeist, or fisherman focused on a trout rising to a floating mayfly, the song of a singing male Kirtland’s warbler counts. Federal biologists will likely review survey data for several more years before deciding on the official status of the Kirtland’s warbler.
In 1994, the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy (MWC) and Trout Unlimited (TU) proposed a novel idea: creating Kirtland’s warbler habitat on private land. Until then, all habitat management for the federally listed endangered species had been conducted on national or state forestland. It also seemed odd to some that TU, an organization dedicated to conservation of coldwater streams and trout, would embark on a project that was “for the birds.” But it was a long-considered decision. The concept had been discussed since the 1970s when a TU-sponsored study of 300 acres of uplands owned by the organization along the Ausable River in Crawford County noted that the best use of the jack pine-dominated property might eventually involve Kirtland’s warbler management.
The Kirtland’s warbler is a small, blue-gray and yellow, sparrow-sized bird that usually nests on the ground on well-drained sand under dense stands of jack pines. The trees must be young—between five and 20 feet high, with branches that extend to the ground. Historically, these stands were maintained by naturally occurring wildfires that frequently swept through large areas of northern Michigan. Fire suppression programs altered this natural process, reducing the Kirtland’s warbler habitat.
Except for a relatively few birds in the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin, the world’s entire population of the Kirtland’s warbler nests on jack pine plains in the northeast Lower Peninsula. In most years, more than 80 percent of breeding pairs have been found in just three counties—Oscoda, Ogemaw, and Crawford. Researchers began counting singing males in 1951; a low of 167 were recorded in 1987.
TU’s 300-acres of over-mature jack pine seemed like a great site to help out an endangered species. Although a few biologists questioned whether significant results could be expected, a plan was developed through TU’s National Property Management Board. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Detroit Edison, and the DNR joined TU and the MWC as partners in the project. The jack pine was cut to prepare the land, then 2-year-old pines were planted 1,100 to the acre. Usually, trees are planted either in rows or randomly. In this 300-acre project, they were planted in wavy, parallel bands to form figure eights. This pattern mimics how jack pines grow after a wildfire.
The proof was in the feathers. Four nesting pairs were found on the site in 2001, then as the planted jack pines began to reach the favored height, 12 nesting pairs were found on the land in 2002. A couple of years later, 16 pairs were detected, and in 2005 the number of singing males (the estimator for nesting pairs) shot up to 27.
The site continued to get high use by Kirtland’s warblers through 2008 when the population of the Kirtland’s warbler reached the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s “Recovered Level.” That made the tiny bird eligible for possible de-listing as a federal and state endangered species. The 2008 tally of 1,791 singing males was the highest number since monitoring began (in 1951) and more than ten times the low number recorded in 1987.
The good news followed four decades of adding suitable habitat through combinations of cuttings, re-plantings, and/or prescribed burning. The MWC contributed to a few of such projects. At the peak of the recovery effort, almost 3,000 acres of jack pines were planted or seeded annually on state and federal lands. By comparison, the 300-acre project started in 1994 along the Ausable River might seem small. But like the restoration of wetlands, prairies, and short stretches of streams, the value of projects lay in their cumulative total and local impact. To the casual hiker, canoeist, or fisherman focused on a trout rising to a floating mayfly, the song of a singing male Kirtland’s warbler counts. Federal biologists will likely review survey data for several more years before deciding on the official status of the Kirtland’s warbler.