Saturday, June 9, 2012

Pic of the Day


     Kirtland’s Warbler – Grayling, Michigan:  This is another image of the same warbler in the last post.  Here are a few facts about the Kirtland’s Warbler:
•  First identified in 1851 from a specimen collected near Cleveland, Ohio and collected on Dr. Jared Kirtland’s farm. (obviously a migratory bird on)
•  Nesting ground was not discovered until 1903.
•  Kirtland’s nest on the ground under jack pines that are 5-20 feet tall which range from 6 to 22 years old.
•  A pair of Kirtland’s require at least eight acres of dense young jack pine forest.
•  Females lay 4 to 5 eggs, and the chicks remain in the nest for 9 to 10 days.
•  Kirtland's winter in the Bahamas.
•  Wintering grounds were not discovered until the early 1990's
•  Cowbirds are a threat to the Kirtland’s, as cowbirds parasitize Kirtland’s nest.
•  A cowbird removal program was instituted in 1972.  Prior to the removal program cowbird parasitized     70% of the Kirtland’s nest.  After the first year of the program cowbird parasitizing dropped to 7%.
•  The ongoing battle to save the Kirtland’s Warbler from extinction is waged by the U.S. Fish and   Wildlife Service, The U.S. Forest Service, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S.     Geological Survey.

Most fact posted here are from the following website:

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1,000sec @ f5.6, on tripod

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