September 19, 2011 *TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) *— Scientists say the population of endangered Kirtland's warblers has stabilized at a level that should ensure long-term survival for the tiny songbirds — but only with continued help from humans. Kirtland's warblers breed only in Michigan, except for a few scattered pairs in Wisconsin and Ontario. They nearly went extinct a few decades ago because of habitat loss but have bounced back in the state's northern Lower Peninsula thanks to conservation programs. The state Department of Natural Resources<http://www.petoskeynews.com/sports/outdoors/pnr-endangered-warbler-surviving-but-still-needs-help-20110919,0,6648338.story#> said Monday that this year's census turned up 1,805 singing males. It's believed that there's at least one female for each singing male. So that would put the population at about 3,600. DNR official Chris Hoving says if the population remains stable, the warbler eventually may come off the endangered species list. ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]