Length: 5.75 inches | Wingspan: 8.75 inches | Seasonality: Non-resident in South Dakota |
ID Keys: Grayish upperparts, yellow underparts, white broken eye-ring, black streaks on sides, white undertail coverts |
The
Kirtland's Warbler is an endangered species with a very small North American
Range. They only breed in a small part of Michigan, and rarely, in
Wisconsin. Probably never common, Kirtland's Warblers use young jack
pine forests for breeding, a type of habitat that was likely once more
common before European settlement, when natural forest fires would
periodically destroy patches of mature forest and allow young jack pines to
grow in their place. Upon settlement, active fire suppression greatly
reduced habitat. Nearly extinct in the 20th century, conservation
efforts have focused on 2 fronts. The first is ensuring adequate
breeding habitat, which is accomplished through active forest management,
periodically cutting large swaths of pine to allow young jack pines to grow.
The second measure is control of cowbird parasitism. Kirtland's
Warblers are extremely susceptible to Cowbird parasitism, with esimates that
in some areas, up to 90% of nests contain a cowbird egg. Cowbirds are
actively trapped and removed from the small Kirtland Warbler range in an
effort to improve breeding success. Despite all efforts to restore
Kirtland Warbler populations, numbers today still number a few thousand at
most.
Click below for a higher-resolution map |
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South Dakota Status: Non-resident in South Dakota |