Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii)


Group	Warblers
Code	ABPBX03180
Order	Passeriformes
Family	Parulidae
Author	(Baird, 1852)
Rank	G1 (definitions)
USESA	LE (definitions)
Occurrence	LM (definitions)
Scale	S (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	Marquette
Eastern UP	none
Northern LP	Alcona, Iosco, Kalkaska, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Roscommon, Crawford
Southern LP	none

Rule:

Forested or Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

Minimum stand size is 200 acres

      (Jack Pine (Regen or Sap))
   containing:
      Stand/Gap Openings

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	no	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	no	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	no	no	no	no	no	no
Assorted Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	YES	YES	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	none
Special Features	Stand (Gap) Openings

view size class definitions

Literature:

Probst, J. R. 1991. Kirtland's Warbler. Pages 414-417 In: R. Brewer, G. A. McPeek, and R. J. Adams, Jr. (eds.) The atlas of breeding birds of Michigan. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing. 594 pp.

Habitat: Known breeding locations for the Kirtland's Warbler are discrete, well-defined pine stands on poor, sandy soils where trees are from 5 to 23 years old and from 1.7 to 5.0 m tall. The occupied habitat is characterized by very dense stands (more than 2,500 stems per ha, 20-80% canopy cover), most commonly found in jack pine regenerated naturally following wildfire. Suitable habitat has been created by planting trees (jack pines and occasionally red pines) at densities about twice the normal forestry density. Between 1960 and 1987, Kirtland's Warblers were found in unburned jack pine stands that had regenerated marginally after timber harvesting, presumably because of a shortage of higher-quality primary habitat. When a large area of wildfire habitat became available around 1987, Kirtland's Warblers were no longer found in unburned or unplanted habitat.

Large populations in major breeding areas increase initially, stabilize, and then decline during the 10- to 15-year period of occupancy. Average tree heights range from 2.4 to 3.9 m tall when populations peak at approximately 13 to 15 years of stand age. When trees reach 3.5 m or more in height and no live needles are present below about 1.0 m, Kirtland's Warbler populations begin to decrease. Nests are built on the ground, concealed in the low cover of grass, sweet ferns, and blueberries.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 675 pp.

Habitat: Young jack pine; winters in dense understory of pines. Breeds only in large stands of young jack pines from 5-25 feet tall. Jack pine grows on sandy soils and regenerates only after fires. In migration, seen in thickets and deciduous trees.

Diet: Mostly small insects, some berries. In summer, eats many insects, including sawfly adults and larvae, grasshopper nymphs, moths, and flies. Adults also feed on pine sap and blueberries. May feed soft berries to young.

Nest: Placed on ground in sandy soil close to pine. Nest is open cup of grass, sedge, pine needles, oak leaves, lined with rootlets, hair, moss, and fibers.