Kirtland's Warbler / Michigan

geno k
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Kirtland's Warbler / Michigan
Kirtland's Warbler / Michigan

This individual is likely a first Spring male. The brownish flight and tail feathers and the slight brownish cast on the back point to that along with the reduced amount of black in the face (particularly in the lores) as well as the relatively pale yellow. My Kirtland's Flickr album shows several mature males for comparison.

This year we once again ran into a Smithsonian crew who continue to work with the Kirtland's warbler. No longer are they monitoring for cowbird activity but now utilizing radiofrequency tagging of some of the birds. We did not encounter any tagged individuals but only photographed a couple birds.

The primary limiter of Kirtland's population size is the amount of suitable breeding habitat. Since they require not only adequately sized areas of Jack Pine stands to breed but also younger stands where branching is adequate in proximity to the ground they continually need new areas to breed as others become unsuitable over time. As I've said before when you know what size of Jack Pines they prefer you can drive along in the breeding areas until you encounter such stands. Then you slow down, drop the windows, and listen.

If you can find such a stand of Jack Pines with a larger dead snag relatively close to the road it is generally only a matter of time before a bird on territory will sing from that snag and often sing there for quite a while. That is probably the easiest way to get open views of this bird. Also a windy and/or a cold day are not good days to seek this species out.

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Taken on: May 22, 2024
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Sets appears in:   • Spring 2024    • Warblers in song    more » • Michigan    • Kirtland's warbler plumages    « less
Camera: Canon EOS R5, f/5.6, 1/3200 sec, 600mm, ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Lens: RF600mm F4 L IS USM
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 1/3200 sec
Focal Length: 600mm
ISO: 1600
Exposure Bias: -2/3 EV
Flash: No Flash
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Manual
Color Space: sRGB
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.3.1 (Macintosh)
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