A record count of singing males and continued production of Kirtland's warbler chicks outside of Michigan highlighted the 2008 Kirtland's warbler nesting season.  The 2008 census counted 1,803 singing males, including 34 males in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, nine males in Wisconsin, and three males in Canada.  In addition, nests were found outside Michigan in Ontario, Canada, and Wisconsin for the second consecutive year.  Four chicks fledged from one nest in Ontario, and 10 chicks fledged from two nests in Wisconsin.  Unfortunately three additional nests in Wisconsin failed. 

The continued recovery of Kirtland's warbler can be attributed to intensive habitat management and annual brown-headed cowbird control.  Land managers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regenerate approximately 4,200 acres of jack pine habitat per year.  This ensures that the Kirtland's warbler has enough suitable habitat for nesting.  In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S Department of Agriculture - Wildlife Services trap cowbirds in occupied Kirtland's warbler habitat in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin to reduce the threat of cowbird nest parasitism. 

The Kirtland's warbler recovery program would not be possible without the coordination and partnership among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Department of Agriculture - Wildlife Services, The Nature Conservancy, Michigan Audubon Society, Plum Creek Timber Company, the Canadian Department of National Defense, and many others.