Hope for Kirtland’s Warbler

Next month, Kirtland’s Warblers will begin their yearly winter trek. They’ll be flying more than eleven hundred miles from their only known nesting ground in Michigan to their wintering grounds in the Caribbean Islands. The bird was one of the first species to be listed as endangered in 1973. But thanks to several decades worth of forest and wildlife management, the bird’s numbers are increasing. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has more:

Station Tracks Migratory Bird Health

As the weather gets warmer, migratory birds head north from
their winter homes and fly through the Midwest to nesting sites in the
Great Lakes Region. Along their journey, rivers like the Illinois
provide
habitat, food, and shelter for the birds. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports on one small research station on the
Illinois River that tracks these birds to learn more about the
environment
we live in:

Prairie State Losing Its Prairie Chickens

  • From a bird blind, Ronald Westemeier observes Greater Prairie Chickens on the booming ground. He spent his career trying to save the bird in Illinois.

The Greater Prairie Chicken was once common throughout the Great Lakes
region, but now it’s disappeared from states like Pennsylvania, Ohio,
and Indiana. While some flocks have survived in Minnesota and
Wisconsin, Prairie Chickens in Illinois are in trouble. Several
management plans have failed and now conservationists are actively
working to save the few remaining birds. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham has the story:

Are Peregrine Falcons Still Endangered?

In the 1960’s, the peregrine falcon population was virtually wiped out.
Today, there are about 2 hundred pairs living east of the Rocky
Mountains. The federal government says the species is no longer in
danger. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports,
biologists who work with these birds disagree:

Whooping Cranes Find a Home

Wisconsin could become the first state in the eastern U-S to host a
nesting area for migrating whooping cranes. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports: