US researchers found that Kirtland’s warblers like to live in young forests and forests that have been on fire, stated in a press release from NASA’s Landsat Program.
Kirtland's Warbler (Dave Currie)
These warblers are an endangered species of lightweight little birds with bright yellow-bellies that summer in North America and winter in the Bahamas.
Researchers, using data from Landsat satellites, reviewed the conditions of many a warbler’s winter home – the Bahamian island of Eleuthera. They did this by painstakingly putting together satellite data to create cloud-free images of the isle’s forest cover.
According to Eileen Helmer, member of the Landsat Science Team for the US Geological Survey, the team compiled many images with scenes where the clouds were in different places into one image of clear forest. The researchers did this many times to obtain a record that spans a 30-year time period. This allows them to tell how long it had been since the forest was last disturbed by fire, crops or grazing.
The team discovered that Kirtland’s warblers are found in young forests. On Eleuthera, these forests only occur after a disturbance of some sort – like fire, clearing for agriculture, or grazing.
“Understanding how and where the warbler’s winter habitat occurs will help conservation efforts in the Bahamas,” said Eileen Helmer.
