The Kirtland's Warbler is an endangered species in the United States so there are few places that this bird can be seen. One place is in the northern part of Michigan where the Kirtland's find the Jack Pines they need to breed. In the summer months it spends its time in Michigan and then in the winter it returns to the Bahamas. Yesterday the Nerdy Birders were in luck. Twitter began to blow up with a sighting of a female Kirtland's. Twitter did not really blow up it was more like a slow murmur but the Nerdy Birders heard it. The Kirtland's was spotted in Oak Openings Metropark a mere ten miles from our house.
The specific area was not hard to find because a bird like this draws a crowed. We rushed over and there she was in a lone tree bouncing from limb to limb. She had been there all day putting on a show for everyone.
The reason that this bird is endangered is because they rely heavily on the Jack Pines. The cones of Jack Pines need fire in order to open up and release their seeds. Fire suppression in the Jack Pine areas of Michigan limited the spread of the tree and ultimately the Kirtland's as well. Additionally Cow Birds have aided in the declining numbers of Kirtland's because they lay their eggs in their nest. The Kirtland's don't always recognize the foreign egg and raise and take care of the intruder as if it was their own. I have said it before and I will say it again, Cow Birds are the worst.
On our way back to the car we also spotted an Indigo Bunting and a Common Yellowthroat. An interesting fact about the Indigo Bunting is that they are actually black and have no blue pigment. It is the diffraction of light that makes them appear to be blue. We were lucky to see it in good lighting. The Common Yellowthroat is the last picture.
If anyone is interested you can check out the Nerdy Birders on Twitter. Click here to go to my page.
Happy Birding!
The specific area was not hard to find because a bird like this draws a crowed. We rushed over and there she was in a lone tree bouncing from limb to limb. She had been there all day putting on a show for everyone.
The reason that this bird is endangered is because they rely heavily on the Jack Pines. The cones of Jack Pines need fire in order to open up and release their seeds. Fire suppression in the Jack Pine areas of Michigan limited the spread of the tree and ultimately the Kirtland's as well. Additionally Cow Birds have aided in the declining numbers of Kirtland's because they lay their eggs in their nest. The Kirtland's don't always recognize the foreign egg and raise and take care of the intruder as if it was their own. I have said it before and I will say it again, Cow Birds are the worst.
On our way back to the car we also spotted an Indigo Bunting and a Common Yellowthroat. An interesting fact about the Indigo Bunting is that they are actually black and have no blue pigment. It is the diffraction of light that makes them appear to be blue. We were lucky to see it in good lighting. The Common Yellowthroat is the last picture.
If anyone is interested you can check out the Nerdy Birders on Twitter. Click here to go to my page.
Happy Birding!
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