My mom ended up getting me a ticket for one of the kirtland warbler tours that are offered by the Audobon Society. It was for today but it was fairly early which meant getting up early but that was okay. I've heard they would pretty much guarantee that I would at least see a warbler.
The guide gave a talk about the Kirtland warbler. It was called the Kirtland warbler because it was "discovered" by a naturalist with the last name of Kirtland. He was from Cleveland, OH. Apparently, the people around Grayling and Mio knew about it before him and gave it the name of firebird or jack pine warbler. The species almost neared extinction because they have a limited habitat and they were almost decimated by cowbirds. Cowbirds will use the nests of other birds and will kill those other birds when they are born. In the 70s, there was a program to grow more jack pines and trap cowbirds. Because of that, the Kirtland warbler now numbers in the thousands again.
After the talk, we were taken to a spot where we were likely to see some warblers. As I was waiting to see the bird, I took some pictures of these phlox flowers (I think).
They like to hang around jack pine trees. The bottom branches are a good spot for a nest. The jack pine almost approached extinction because it requires a fire to grow new ones.
This Cessna Citation flew over. I was hoping this wasn't the only flying thing I was going to see.
One the left is a Kirtland warbler. They have a nice yellow belly and a gray back. They are a very nice looking bird. On the right is a sparrow of some sort. I thought that was a warbler but then I looked a little closer.
So I focused on the warbler. I wish he were a little closer but alas, that wasn't to be.
Given that these are almost exclusive to Michigan, I think these should be the State bird instead of the robin.
There have been proposals to do just that but the robin is popular.
But I think these look cooler.
Even if they are tiny and hard to see.
I thought this was another warbler but it turns out that it was just another sparrow.
But I liked the pictures because the bird was singing and I thought it looked cool.
I was happy to finally get a decent shot of a Kirtland warbler and now that I know where to look, I hope to get some more.
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