Share your observations of plants or non-game animals with the Natural Heritage Inventory
Help care for rare plants and animals by ordering an Endangered Resources plate.
Photo © Dennis Malueg
Kirtland's Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii), listed as Endangered in Wisconsin, is found in areas at least 30 hectares in size, where scrubby jack pine (2-6m high) is interspersed with many small openings and minimal ground cover. The required avoidance period is May 20 - July 31. Contact the species expert for any activities outside of these dates. See the species guidance document for avoidance measures and management guidance from the Natural Heritage Conservation Program.
Note: Kirtland's Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii) was added to the Wisconsin E/T list on January 1, 2014 per administrative rule ER-27-11. Learn more
The table below provides information about the protected status - both state and federal - and the rank (S and G Ranks) for Kirtland's Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii). See the Working List Key for more information about abbreviations. Counties shaded blue have documented occurrences for this species in the Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory database. The map is provided as a general reference of where occurrences of this species meet NHI data standards and is not meant as a comprehensive map of all observations.
Note: Species recently added to the NHI Working List may temporarily have blank occurrence maps.
| Summary Information | |
|---|---|
| State Status | END |
| Federal Status in Wisconsin | none |
| State Rank | S1B |
| Global Rank | G3G4 |
| Tracked by NHI | Y |
| WWAP | SGCN |
Kirtland's Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii) has very few known occurrences in the state and is of the highest priority for conservation; we encourage you to consult with your District Ecologist or an NHI Zoologist for specific recommendations for your site.
This document contains identification and life history information for Kirtland's Warbler. It also describes how to screen projects for potential impacts to this species, lists avoidance measures, and provides general management guidance.
Kirtland's Warbler Species Guidance [PDF]
Click to view a larger version. Please considering donating a photo to the Natural Heritage Conservation Program for educational uses. Photo use
Photo © Dennis Malueg.
Photo © Dennis Malueg.
Dendroica kitrlandii, Kirtland's Warbler, Michigan.
Photo by staff, WDNR.
Photo © Dennis Malueg.
Photo © Lou George.
The table below lists the natural communities that are associated with Kirtland's Warbler. Only natural communities for which Kirtland's Warbler is "high" (score=3) or "moderate" (score=2) associated are shown. See the key to association scores for complete definitions. Please see the Wildlife Action Plan to learn how this information was developed.
| Natural community | Score |
|---|---|
| Central Sands Pine - Oak Forest | 3 |
| Northern Dry Forest--young seral | 3 |
| Pine Barrens | 3 |
| Conifer Plantation | 2 |
The table below lists the ecological landscape association scores for Kirtland's Warbler. The scores correspond to the map (3=High, 2=Moderate, 1=Low, 0=None). For more information, please see the Wildlife Action Plan.
| Ecological landscape | score |
|---|---|
| Central Sand Plains | 1 |
| Northeast Sands | 1 |
| Northern Highland | 1 |
| Northwest Sands | 1 |
Ecological priorities are the combinations of natural communities and ecological landscapes that provide Wisconsin's best opportunities to conserve important habitats for a given Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The 10 highest scoring combinations are considered ecological priorities and are listed below. More than 10 combinations are listed if multiple combinations tied for 10th place. For more information, please see the Wildlife Action Plan.
* Ecological priority score is a relative measure that is not meant for comparison between species. This score does not consider socio-economical factors that may dictate protection and/or management priorities differently than those determined solely by ecological analysis. Further, a low ecological priority score does not imply that management or preservation should not occur on a site if there are important reasons for doing so locally.
Conservation actions respond to issues or threats, which adversely affect species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) or their habitats. Besides actions such as restoring wetlands or planting resilient tree species in northern communities, research, surveys and monitoring are also among conservation actions described in the WWAP because lack of information can threaten our ability to successfully preserve and care for natural resources.