Song of the Kirtland’s Warber

Song of the Kirtland’s Warber

Can you tell the difference between the song of a thrush and a robin? How about the songs of a warbler and a mocking bird? I am convinced that the ability to remember and differentiate between different bird songs relates to musical ability. Seeing that I am singularly lacking in that talent, I really struggle to identify many birds by their songs though I recognize them on sight. Many species of birds are very difficult to see in the woods. Experienced bird watchers can identify the birds just by their call or song. This ability to identify the birds by song–not by sight–is the primary means naturalists used to help save the Kirtlands warbler from extinction.

Most of us have never seen the Kirtland’s warbler. They are a medium sized songbird about six inches tall. They have a gray colored back and yellow breast with black stripes. They nest exclusively in young Jack Pine forests that are 5 to 18 feet tall with ground cover of blueberries or bearberries. If the forests are too old or young they do not nest in them. All of the original habitat is gone because of logging. Also, forest fires are contained so that there are few new growth woods that follow a fire. As a result, the habitat Kirtland’s need for nesting has all but disappeared. My brother actually told me he saw a Kirtland’s warbler near one of my father’ blueberry farms. It probably was nesting in the Jack Pines nearby. Most of the nesting area is in the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The warbler overwinters in the Bahamas.

So what is the big deal? Naturalists sounded the alarm in the 1980’s when the the population of the secretive bird dropped to 200 pairs. In fact, in 1987 only 167 singing males were counted. You see, the naturalists visit the birds habitat and listen for the Kirtland’s peculiar call. By counting the number of singing males they can count how many breeding pairs there are. The birds are very territorial so that there is only one pair for every 30 acres–which makes it easier for counting. The math is easy. It takes over 30,000 acres of the right age Jack Pines to sustain 1,000 pairs of Kirtland’s warblers.

In order to rebuild the population, government agencies intensively manage 156,000 acres of the Huron-Manistee National Forest for habitat specific to the Kirtland’s warbler. They also engage in trapping cowbirds which push warbler eggs out of their nest and replace them with their own to be raised by the warblers. Nearly 4,000 cowbirds have been trapped each year for the past 28 years.

The results of this careful management of habitat and competition have been amazing. The population of Michigan’s Kirtland’s warblers has been counted this year at 1,416 singing males. This is the highest count in many, many years. A secondary population has established itself in the Upper Peninsula.

All of this comes with a price tag. At this time the costs are covered by the Federal government and Michigan’s DNR because the warbler is on the endangered species list. Hopefully, the funding mechanisms can be put in place to preserve this small, but, important example of God’s handiwork in the creation to our benefit and to His glory.

Can you be identified by your song and the habitat you can be found in? I am not asking if you can hold a tune that someone could enjoy listening to. I am also not asking if you like to walk in a woods of Jack Pine. I am asking if the “song” you sing by your words and actions identifies you as a child of God, a repentent sinner who is saved by the amazing grace of God. People should be able to “hear” your praise song and identify you when they hear it. Just as you would not expect to hear a Kirtland’s warbler sing in a stand of oak and beech trees, you cannot expect to sing a song of praise to God in places of worldly entertainment and immoral behavior. Your song and the places you frequent go together. If you have ungodly friends you cannot sing the songs of God with them. In fact, like the warbler, your spiritual life will die if you remain in the wrong environment in the company of the ungodly. You will become spiritually extinct. Unlike the warbler, by God’s grace, you can repent, change your ways, and be wise.

May God give you that grace.

The Kirtland’s Song

The warbler’s song,
His presence shows,
Where he belongs,
In the pine groves.

Showing God’s care.
Singing His praise.
God’s love to share,
All of his days.

My life’s my song,
His presence shows,
Where I belong,
My heart He knows.

Showing God’s grace,
Singing His praise
God’s love to share,
All of my days.

In safety keep,
With gentle hand,
In trials deep,
By grace I stand.

Deane Wassink
July, 2005