MADISON, WI (KDAL) – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is partnering with state and national groups to protect an at-risk bird called the Connecticut Warbler.
The songbird’s population has plunged over recent years and a DNR survey in 2022 found only 3 nesting pair in the core breeding area of northwestern Wisconsin.
Efforts are underway to improve the habitat for the warbler in Bayfield County and protect its wintering grounds in South America.
The DNR and Bayfield County Forestry and Parks Department are removing brush in stands of jack pine which should enhance the growth of blueberry and other ground cover which mimics the bird’s preferred natural conditions.
The sparrow sized Connecticut Warblers nest in mostly black spruce-tamarack bogs but also use older jack pine forests.
Most nest in Canada but also are found in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Researchers believe the bird’s steep population decline is due mostly to destruction of the wintering forests in South America and also the loss of mature jack pine stands in Wisconsin.
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