What flies in a northern forest?

Female black-throated green warbler, just one of the species nesting in boreal forests. Photo by S. Maslowski and courtesy of USFWS.

Female black-throated green warbler, just one of the species nesting in boreal forests. Photo by S. Maslowski and courtesy of USFWS.

In July I had the opportunity to attend the North American Congress on Conservation Biology in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to having a blast in the cooler weather and meeting researchers doing amazing work, I also was reminded that the boreal forests of the world are huge- in fact, they are much, much bigger than I usually think of them as being. And it turns out that they play host to many species from my favorite group of birds, the wood warblers.

But these forests are also on the front lines of conservation due to land conversion and climate change. It would make sense, therefore, that the birds that live in this habitat are also facing big challenges. And since many of those birds migrate on a yearly basis, even if we don’t live in a boreal landscape, many of us still encounter the birds that depend on that habitat.

While I was at the congress, I learned about a group working in Canada to protect huge areas of boreal forest in a bid to give these ecosystems the space they need over the long-term, but Canada is not the only place with these forests. What’s happening in other locations, like Alaska or Russia? How big do we need to be thinking in terms of protection? How are the birds doing right now and what do we expect for the future? I don’t have answers to any of those questions, so, this month, I’m looking at birds in boreal forests- I may live in a completely different environment, but I love seeing those warblers when they migrate through Louisiana, and I’d like to keep seeing them in the future.