Kirtland’s Warbler is among North America’s rarest birds. Fewer than 2,000 are known, the breeding range for all of them restricted to 13 contiguous counties in central Michigan. That was the case until this summer when they were found at several Wisconsin sites, including one in Douglas County, immediately southeast of Duluth, and another in Jackson County, about an hour’s drive east of Winona.  Researchers, who were looking for the birds, found seven singing males in Adams County. This site is two counties north of Dane County, where Madison is located. Five nests were made at the Adams County sites. Two clutches of five birds were hatched. Four singing males Kirtland’s Warblers were found in Marinette County, which borders Michigan. The species was seen or heard at three sites in Vilas County (bordering Michigan), and three more in Jackson County. A singing male was found in Bayfield County, in northeastern Wisconsin. The Douglas County bird was seen at close range on July 9 when it responded to a recording of its call.  Kirtland’s have been seen in Wisconsin before these sightings. For years there have been rumors and stories of individual birds found, with any information on locations always withheld. When I lived in Burnett County, Wisconsin, in the late 1990s, I chased some of those rumors. My rewards were pleasant mornings walking in jack pine forests.It seems unlikely that almost 30 Kirtland’s Warblers, male and female, suddenly showed up in northern, eastern, and western Wisconsin — boom — this summer. It’s much more likely that the birds have gone unnoticed until seen last May when organized efforts were made to find more. Counties with suitable habitat were chosen for the search.Is anyone looking for them over here? Some members of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, by the way, got to see one of the birds, a singing male. A special trip was limited to 72 people, participants chosen by a drawing. It is planned to repeat the trip in 2009. (Information for this came from the Fall/Winter 2008 issue of the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative newsletter, Lynn Ratkowski editor.)   Â

 We’re going to have a rare opportunity in October to be part of one of the outdoor world’s big-time events — selection of the artwork that will appear on the 2009-2010 federal duck stamp. The judging will be done at the Bloomington Center for the Arts. Paintings entered in the competition will be on display at the center,  1800 West Old Shakopee Road. An entire week of activities will center around the contest. Minnesota artists have dominated this competition, their artwork appearing on the stamp 23 times since 1949.  Minnesota brothers Joe, Jim, and Bob Hautman alone have won the competition a combined eight times. The stamp shown is Joe Hautman’s 2008-2009 winner. For more information go to www.fws.gov/duckstamps/2008contest.htm

The world has a new species of bird — the Olive-backed Forest Robin, scientific name Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus. It was found in Gabon, Africa, by a team of scientists from the Smithsonian Institution. The bird is about the size of our Black-backed Chickadee. It was first observed in 2001. Specimens were collected in 2003 by SI scientist Brian Schmidt. Recent DNA work confirmed that the bird had not previously been identified. “The world still holds surprises for us.” Schmidt said.

The Old Cedar Avenue bridge, now closed for safety reasons, was for years a wonderful birding location. It could be again. Almost enough money has been raised to rebuild the bridge, which spans the Minnesota River. A rally to push for the final dollars needed will be held at the bridge Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 9 a.m. The governor plans to be there, along with other elected officials. A good-sized crowd of enthusiastic birders will be helpful. The bridge, located in Bloomington, is at the end of Old Cedar Avenue, reached from Old Shakopee Road. Exit 35W at 90th St. and go east.Â

The Brown-headed Cowbird is a brood parasite. It lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species, letting the host incubate the cowbird eggs and raise the young. Human alteration of the landscape has expanded cowbird range. As a result, bird species that did not evolve to co-exist with cowbirds are feeling population pressures. Now, there is a video showing an even worse situation — a cowbird apparently prepping the would-be host nest by grabbing the hatchlings in the nest and tossing them to the ground. This is presented as first unequivocal evidence of this behavior. Go to http://www.easternct.edu/personal/faculty/elliottp/index.htm and click on the video screen in the lower right corner.Â

 A flock of birds is the common way to describe a group or gathering of species. Bird names offer other choices, however. Here are some examples, thanks to Phil Davidson of Maryland. He posted this to the birding email list known as Birdchat. A glimmer of Northern Flickers. A hangover of Red-eyed Vireos. An alphabet of jays. A maniac of ravens. An arena of Redwings. A hood of robins. An assortment of Varied Buntings. A litter of catbirds. A nebula of starlings. A range of Ovenbirds. A drift of Snow Geese. A tart of bitterns. An illusion of merlins. A trailerpark of Red-necked Phalaropes. And an asylum of Common Loons. Have you one to share?    Â

We could use an official Opening Day for the spring birding season, similar to openers for fishing or the various hunting seasons. Birding gets some general media attention during the Christmas Bird Count, our token bird story. We certainly don’t get the coverage given to opening of the walleye or deer seasons. Let’s get the governor out for birding’s opening day, in a state park, binoculars around his neck. Do you think the evening news would cover the event, give us a shot of the gov’s checklist? If invited, would the governor even show up? Is birding important enough for this to happen? Does it matter?

My learning curve for blogging isn’t what it might be. I had hoped to post photographs from my Alaskan trip with my trip text. Didn’t work. Try, try again. Here, with luck, are two photos from the trip — a Tufted Puffin and an Arctic Tern chick. The puffin was found off the shore of Gull Island, near Homer. The terns were nesting along the Kenai River. In b0th cases, I used a Nikon D-200 digital camera with a 300mm f2.8 lens and a doubler. Given the the .5 multiplier the camera provides (300x.5 = 450) plus the doubler (450×2), I was shooting at 900mm.  Â

Seen or heard Sunday at the U.S. Women’s Open, Interlachen Country Club, Edina, four hours at mid-day, in strong wind: American Robin, House Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Tree Swallow, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Goldfinch, Blue Jay, Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Canada Goose, Mallard. You can be a birder anywhere and everywhere. Sometimes bird calls can be heard in the background during televised broadcasts of golf tournaments. Several years ago a reporter named D’Vera Cohn caught CBS using taped bird calls to provide “ambient sound” at professional tournaments in Michigan and Kentucky. It was obvious the calls were taped because they were of bird species not found in those locations. A bird is a bird is a bird, I guess. Regarding the tournament at Interlachen, I came home to watch the end of the tournament on TV, but after four hours following three teenage grandsons around the course, I fell asleep in front of the screen. I cannot offer comment on Interlachen bird songs real or false.Â