A bird watcher has discovered a rare Kirtland's warbler nest in central Wisconsin, indicating that a breeding pair now calls the state home, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday.
"That's a pretty big deal, I would say," said Christie Deloria, a biologist with the fish and wildlife service in Marquette, Mich. "That would indicate there's suitable habitat there."
The bird, one of the rarest members of the wood warbler family, typically makes its home in the northern part of lower Michigan, nesting in stands of young jack pines.
Historically, natural wildfires have regenerated the bird's habitat by wiping out old trees and making way for new ones.
But modern fire suppression programs have altered that cycle. The population dropped from 432 singing males in 1951 to 201 males in 1971.
Recovery efforts ranging from clear-cutting to replanting have bolstered the population, however, and estimates put the male population last year at 1,486, USFWS officials said.
The bird has been ranging outward from lower Michigan, with sightings in Wisconsin, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Ontario. But no nests had been found outside Michigan for decades.
USFWS officials said in a statement the bird watcher discovered the Wisconsin nest several weeks ago on land owned by the Plum Creek Timber Co. Deloria said the find came in June but she didn't know the date.
A male and a female were seen in the nest, Deloria said.
"They're breeding, for sure. No question," she said. "It's quite a find."
USFWS did not release the location of the nest out of concerns someone could disturb it.
The Kirtland's warbler migrates to the Bahama Islands for the winter.
