Male golden-cheeked warblers repeat an ascending buzzy song to mark their territory and attract a mate.
But you’ll only hear that song if you find yourself at an elevation of 590–1,700 feet in a mature juniper-oak woodland among the hills and canyons of Texas Hill Country in March, and you have some patience. Golden-cheeked warblers breed almost exclusively in these intact woodlands scattered throughout a few dozen counties in central Texas.
Golden-cheeked warblers (Setophaga chrysoparia) are loyal to their juniper-oak woodland nesting grounds, returning to the same specific area each year. After pairing up in early spring, the female chooses a site—usually in the upper reaches of a juniper tree—and leads the construction of a cup-shaped nest woven from Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) bark, along with spider silk and other materials.
The junipers also provide a critical food source. Golden-cheeked warblers pick soft-bodied insects, especially caterpillars, from junipers, oaks, and other trees to feed their young.
But golden-cheeked warblers can’t survive on junipers alone. While a few breeding pairs have been found in the suburbs, a stable, healthy golden-cheeked warbler population depends on protecting and restoring intact juniper-oak woodlands in central Texas—a habitat that is shrinking and cannot quickly recover from disturbance.
While most bird species in North America are threatened by the impacts of climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, and even outdoor cats and glass buildings, there is increased pressure on golden-cheeked warblers because their breeding range is so small.
Concerns about human destruction of golden-cheeked warbler breeding habitat date to the late 1800s, but these songbirds weren’t officially listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in the United States until 1990.
As the human population of central Texas has grown, urbanization and land development have caused significant breeding habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation. Unfortunately, the golden-cheeked warbler’s wintering habitats in Mexico and Central America are also shrinking because of logging, agriculture, mining, and urbanization.
Even within breeding habitats protected from development, golden-cheeked warblers face challenges from invasive species, nest predation, and brood parasitism.
Established in 2016 RES’ Festina Lente Ranch Conservation Bank provides permanent conservation of approximately 500 acres of golden-cheeked warbler breeding habitat in Bandera County, TX. To maximize contiguous breeding habitat, the bank was strategically sited across from Lost Maples State Natural Area, a 2,174-acre preserve managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that also supports golden-cheeked warblers.
At Festina Lente Ranch Conservation Bank, a variety of threats to golden-cheeked warblers are managed to promote breeding success, including:
RES ecologists have been pleased to find that these threats currently pose little risk to golden-cheeked warbler populations at Festina Lente Ranch. Oak wilt has not been detected, brown-headed cowbird numbers are low due to nearby trapping efforts, and the presence of native red harvester ants indicates that red imported fire ants are generally absent. Management efforts have kept feral hog populations in check and a single chinaberry tree has been addressed.
With permanent protection and stewardship, Festina Lente Ranch Conservation Bank can continue to support a large population of federally endangered golden-cheeked warblers, as well as a smaller number of federally endangered black-capped vireos (Vireo atricapilla).
Sources & Further Reading
Key Takeaways
Photo credits:
Photo by Jason Crotty - CC BY 2.0
Photo by Bettina Arrigoni - CC BY 2.0