Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Endangered songbird's numbers keep growing in Michigan

Associated Press

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LANSING -- The number of Kirtland's warblers in Michigan has reached its highest level since monitoring of the endangered songbird began in 1951, the state Department of Natural Resources said.

Biologists, researchers and volunteers counted 1,415 singing males during the 2005 official census period, up from 1,348 observed in 2004, the DNR said Monday in a statement. The agency said 1,202 singing males were counted in 2003, and 1,050 in 2002.

The lowest numbers were recorded in 1974 and 1987, when only 167 singing males were found.

The half-ounce, yellow-breasted birds nest on the ground in 4- to 20-year-old jack pine forests in northern Michigan after wintering in the Caribbean. The low numbers recorded in 1974 and 1987 were blamed on forest fire suppression techniques aimed at jack pines, which reduced the birds' available habitat.

The Kirtland's warbler survey is conducted over a 10-day period during the first two weeks of June each year. The birds are counted by listening for their songs, which can be heard at distances up to one-quarter mile. Only the males sing, so estimates of population size are obtained by doubling the number of singing males counted.

Singing males were found in 16 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula, led by Ogemaw with 479, Crawford with 227 and Oscoda with 209, the DNR said.

On the Net:
Michigan Department of Natural Resources, http://www.michigan.gov/dnr.