The area is confined to the northern portion of Lower Michigan, USA, and comprises c.1,000 km² of level or gently rolling sandy soil on which the jack pine Pinus banksiana occurs naturally. This specialized habitat is the only breeding area of Kirtland's Warbler Dendroica kirtlandii (classified as Vulnerable) which is dependent on dense and near-homogeneous stands of jack pine 1.7-5.0 m tall (8-20 years old), such conditions occurring naturally only after extensive fires. Very little of such suitable habitat remains, and D. kirtlandii is surviving (there were 692 singing males in 1996) due entirely to intensive management of the remaining forests and control of the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater. D. kirtlandii leaves the area in September to winter in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos islands (EBA 026).

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: Michigan jack pine savanna. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/302 on 22/11/2024.