Kirtland’s Warbler Numbers Decline
The Kirtland’s Warbler Conservation Team, a group of experts from state and federal agencies and nonprofit groups, is undertaking a long-term plan to stabilize the population of the once-endangered Kirtland’s warbler.
The 2025 census of the colorful songbird indicates a decline in the population. According to the recent survey, there are 1,477 breeding pairs of Kirtland’s warblers in Michigan, which is home to 98% of the global population. Another 12 pairs were counted in Wisconsin, bringing the global population to 1,489 pairs, with Ontario’s numbers still to be reported.
The last census, in 2021, estimated the global population at 2,245 pairs. The decline is projected to continue over the next few years before the conservation team’s efforts can stabilize the population through innovative strategies to manage the bird’s habitat.

The Michigan survey was conducted June 6-26 in the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula. The census resulted in:
- 814 pairs of Kirtland’s warblers on DNR-managed land in the northern Lower Peninsula.
- 597 pairs on Forest Service land in the northern Lower Peninsula.
- 49 pairs on DNR-managed land in the Upper Peninsula.
- 17 pairs on Forest Service land in the Upper Peninsula.
Small numbers of the songbird also live in Wisconsin and Ontario (in 2021, Ontario reported 22 pairs).
One reason for the decline in the bird’s population is a reduced acreage of suitable breeding habitat. The ground-nesting Kirtland’s warbler relies exclusively on young jack pine forests to breed, with the vast majority of the birds living on designated state- and federally-managed acreage in northern Lower Michigan. But there currently aren’t enough young jack pine stands available to maintain a stable population of Kirtland’s warblers, so the state and federal agencies will adjust the tree-harvesting strategy to create more breeding habitat in designated management areas.
However, in recent years, it has become evident that previous management practices need to be updated. Early intensive efforts to create habitat ramped up in the late 1980s, and 40 years of implementing jack pine plantings have resulted in a majority of the management areas with 30- to 40-year-old jack pine stands. Because these stands are intentionally planted at higher densities for better habitat compared to other types of planted stands, they are not commercially marketable for clear-cutting until they are at least 60 years old. This has left land managers with fewer opportunities to create young habitat over the last decade.
The Kirtland’s warbler was federally endangered for nearly 50 years. The population dropped to fewer than 200 pairs in the 1970s and again in the 1980s, when it was restricted to only 14 townships in six counties in northern Lower Michigan. Thanks to a decades-long collaborative effort by federal, state, and private partners to recover the species, the bird was removed from the federal Endangered Species List in 2019.
The Kirtland’s warbler remains a state-threatened species in Michigan because it is conservation-reliant, meaning it will not persist without intensive management. The majority of the population nests in a 10-county area in the northern Lower Peninsula, primarily from Grayling to Oscoda.
Kirtland’s Warbler Tours
Kirtland’s warbler tours are available from the U.S. Forest Service and Michigan Audubon Society. These guided tours represent exclusive opportunities to view this endangered songbird, as Kirtland’s warbler nesting areas in northern Michigan will be closed and posted against public entry during the nesting season.
The Michigan Audubon Society conducts guided tours from Grayling in collaboration with Hartwick Pines State Park from late May 24 through June 30. For tour information, go to www.michiganaudubon.org/kirtlands-warbler-tours/.

The U.S. Forest Service will conduct tours in the Huron-Manistee National Forest. Contact the Mio Ranger District (989-826-3252; email: MioKWTours@fs.fed.us) for 2026 dates of the tours.
Actual sighting of the Kirtland’s warbler on the tours is not guaranteed. Most male Kirtland’s warblers arrive on the breeding grounds between May 1st and May 18th (means range between May 12th and May 15th), with the first females arriving a week or so after the first males. The best time to see the warbler is during late May and early June. After July 1, viewing opportunities diminish.