Northern Parula (Parula Americana) Skye Christopher G
Northern Parula (Parula americana) Skye Christopher G. Haas
Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Ottawa Co., OH 5/14/2009 © Darlene Friedman (Click to view a comparison of Atlas I to II)
A true sprite of Michigan’s North Woods, this on territory from riverine corridors in the SLP, but breeding has not been documented. There is living jewel is one of our most beautifully a report of breeding by Covert in the 1890s plumaged warblers. A delightful combination of (Barrows 1912), but it is doubtful if Parulas blue, white, green and yellow adorns this small, were ever an established nesting resident of the delicate bird and its buzzy voice is akin to SLP. The MBBA I recorded a handful of zipping open one’s tent to greet a day of birding. singing males from the southwest corner of the The Northern Parula selects nesting habitats that State, representing only 0.86% of SLP are enchanting places, often wet sylvan glades townships. This is in stark contrast to the full of tall, mature conifer trees, draped in MBBA II results where Northern Parula was lichens. Notable is this species’ practice of recorded in 3.67% of SLP townships with four placing its pendant nest in hanging epiphytic Probable records. This increase in observations vegetation, though nests have been found in also reflected an expansion of distribution. debris over streams caught by tree limbs during Northern Parulas were observed northward high-water events. This dependence on along the Lake Michigan coastline into the epiphytes has led to an odd distribution in the Leelanau Peninsula and the northern tier of U.S. and Canada, with a northern population counties in the LP. Singing male Parulas were nesting in the boreal forest in conifers where it also noted in the southeast LP with birds in uses the lichen Usnea (also known as “old Lenawee and Washtenaw Counties, as well as man’s beard”), while the species is also widely along the southern basin of Lake Huron. distributed across the south where the bromeliad
“spanish moss” serves as a nest site. MBBA II results in the UP are even more
notable, with a 22.51% increase in the number Distribution of UP townships from MBBA I. Particularly While long-known as a summer resident in interesting are the data showing an increase in Michigan, the first Northern Parula nest in the Probable breeding records from 67 townships to state was not found until 1949 in Wilderness an impressive 187. This category includes adults State Park, Emmet County (Graber 1951). This remaining on territory through the breeding species is primarily found in the UP and the season, as well a likely increase of the actual NLP, though there are occasional birds singing
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Northern Parula (Parula americana) Skye Christopher G. Haas population in suitable habitat. Despite being Michigan population to be 50,000 birds, about widespread across much of the UP, Northern 0.6% of the global population (PIF 2007). Parula is mostly absent from the farmland and Owing to their limited range in the state, as well hardwood forests of Menominee County as well as selective habitat preferences, Northern as the jack pine plains of eastern Chippewa Parulas are infrequently encountered on BBS County. Breeding confirmation of this canopy surveys and averaged only 0.33 birds per route resident can be difficult, and no nests were (Sauer et al 2008). From 1986 to 1992 there was discovered during MBBA II. a slight decrease from 0.6 to 0.4 in the detection of birds in the UP, but the number of individuals Breeding Biology (n=23) is likely too small to be significant Little data exists about the breeding habits of the (Moldenhauer 1996). Still the species does have Northern Parula, mostly due to the areas where it is locally abundant and BBS inaccessibility of the nest, frequently concealed routes in Ontonagon County displayed a high in the upper canopy and at the outer end of a average of 9.3 individuals per route (Evers limb. Compounded by the closed structure of 1991). the nest, even when discovered, monitoring of the young’s behavior is impossible until they These data mirror results from Ontario, where fledge from the nest (Moldenhauer 1996). The Northern Parula doubled in the number of Northern Parula is particularly beholden to observations between their first and second damp coniferous forest where epiphytic lichens atlases, but are infrequently encountered on are used as structures for nest placement. On BBS routes (McLaren 2007). Both Wisconsin occasion, Parulas can be found in dry forests, and New York showed a slight increase in typically in white pines where nests will be detections on BBS routes, with New York also placed in clusters of dead needles and leaves showing a significant increase in numbers (Moldenhauer 1996). between their two atlases (Elias 2006, McGowan 2008). BBS data has shown a 2.3% The first migrants return to Michigan during the increase for the Upper Midwest (USFWS last few days of April and early May, and Conservation Region 3) from 1966-2000 (Sauer singing males are back on territory in the UP by et al. 2008). mid-May (Adams 1994, Chartier and Ziarno 2004). Second broods are not well documented Conservation Needs in the northern portion of the range; an The presence of Usnea lichens make for an observation of nest building from 11 July in excellent biological indicator of local air Emmet County was likely a re-nesting attempt quality, and widespread decline in both Usnea (Graber 1951). and Northern Parulas in the second half of the 20th Century was recorded in northeastern states Abundance and Population Trends due to industrial aerial pollutants (McGowan (Click to view trends from the BBS) 2008). Numbers have rebounded somewhat and Even in areas where found, Northern Parulas are birds reclaiming territory in New York State rarely abundant, and are out-numbered by other may represent both an improvement in air species of warbler. Still, in the northern portion quality as well as a maturation of forests of Michigan, they are widely distributed, and creating preferable habitat for Parulas the number of townships where this species was (McGowan 2008). Logging practices are also of recorded increased from 14.24% in MBBA I to concern when considering negative implications 22.86% in MBBA II, suggesting a population to Northern Parula populations; shorter cutting increase. Partners in Flight estimate the rotations may not permit the sufficient growth
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Northern Parula (Parula americana) Skye Christopher G. Haas of epiphytes for nesting (Moldenhauer 1996). In McGowan, K. 2008. Northern Parula (Parula northern Michigan, Usnea is most frequently americana). In McGowan, K.J., and K. found along stream corridors and other moist Corwin (eds.). 2008. The Second Atlas of forest habitat types. The impact of metallic Breeding Birds in New York State. Cornell sulfide mining projects on western UP water University Press, Ithaca, NY. quality, and its potential to negatively affect the Moldenhauer, R.R., and D.J. Regelski. 1996. breeding success of the Northern Parula, is a Northern Parula (Parula americana). In The significant concern. Birds of North America, No. 215 (A Poole and F Gill, eds.). The Birds of North Literature Cited America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. Partners in Flight (PIF). 2007. PIF Landbird Adams, R.J. 1994. Northern Parula (Parula Population Estimates Database [web americana). In McPeek, G.A., and R.J. application]. Version 2004. Rocky Adams (eds.). 1994. The Birds of Michigan. Mountain Bird Observatory. Indiana University Press. Bloomington, IN.
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center