Louis Agassiz Fuertes, an American ornithologist, illustrator and artist, painted this pair of Bachman’s warblers. He also set the rigorous and current-day standards for ornithological art and naturalist depiction and is considered one of the most prolific American bird artists, second only to his guiding professional predecessor John James Audubon.
Back in mid-October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delisted 21 species from the Endangered Species Act.
Unfortunately, the action came about not because of a successful recovery for the 21 species, but it was due to extinction.
According to the FWS press release, rigorous reviews of the best available science helped FWS determine these species are extinct and should be removed from the list of species protected under the ESA.
Most of these species were listed under the ESA in the 1970s and 1980s. Even at the time of their listing, some of these species had seen their numbers dwindle to very low levels. Others were probably already extinct at the time of listing.
The extinct species include eight of Hawaii’s honeycreepers, Guam’s bridled white-eye and little Mariana fruit bat, a species of fish from Texas and nine species of mussels.
The sad story of the decimation of birds and other species in Hawaii is a natural apocalypse of truly tragic dimensions. But one of the other birds recently declared extinct lived thousands of miles from the Hawaiian islands. That bird — Bachman’s warbler — holds an enigmatic place among my favorite family of birds.
I’ve always been fascinated with the Bachman’s warbler, possibly due to the fact it has a similar appearance to my favorite warbler, the hooded warbler. This small bird was also a fellow inhabitant of the southeastern United States, although it resided in cane brakes and flooded, forested swamps, not in the hollows and woodlands of Northeast Tennessee.
But to me, Bachman’s warbler remained only a painting in a book. When I began birding, I began making actual sightings of the real birds that had existed for a long time as mere images. Alas, Bachman’s warbler remained only an image, not a reality.
Early naturalist and artist John James Audubon produced the most famous painting of the species, but even his work was not based on real life observations.
This warbler was first recorded in 1832 by the Rev. John Bachman, who found the species near Charleston, South Carolina. Bachman later presented study skins and descriptions to Audubon, his friend and collaborator. The famed naturalist and artist never saw the bird alive but named it in honor of Bachman in 1833.
Some 19th century authors also referred to the bird as Bachman’s swamp warbler.
Experts believe that Bachman’s warbler bred primarily in two distinct regions: the southern Atlantic coastal plain and the Gulf Coast states north along the Mississippi River watershed to Kentucky.
In the southern Atlantic coastal plain, the bird bred in South Carolina near Charleston, though it is believed to have once bred as far north as Virginia and south into Georgia.
The Gulf Coast breeding habitat is located primarily in central Alabama, though reports from northern Mississippi and Louisiana are known. The species bred north of Alabama along Arkansas’s and Missouri’s St. Francis River.
Interestingly, there are some unaccepted records of successful nestings in Tennessee, as well as eastern Texas and Oklahoma.
“Federal protection came too late to reverse these species’ decline, and it’s a wake-up call on the importance of conserving imperiled species before it’s too late,” said USFWS Director Martha Williams in the release. “As we commemorate 50 years of the Endangered Species Act this year, we are reminded of the Act’s purpose to be a safety net that stops the journey toward extinction. The ultimate goal is to recover these species, so they no longer need the Act’s protection.”
In September 2021, the Service proposed delisting 23 species from the ESA due to extinction. Following public comment on the proposed rule, the Service withdrew the delisting proposal for a Hawaiian perennial herb in the mint family that has no common name. The plant’s reprieve was due to recent surveys identifying new, potentially suitable habitats for the species.
Once again, another elusive bird of the southeastern United States escaped a final declaration of extinction. FWS will continue to analyze and review information before deciding whether to delist the ivory-billed woodpecker. Bachman’s warbler and the ivory-billed woodpeckers may very well have been neighbors in some of their favored habitats. My own opinion on the likelihood of the largest native woodpecker still surviving is one of skeptical optimism.
According to the release, the 21 species extinctions highlight the importance of the ESA and efforts to conserve species before declines become irreversible. The circumstances of each also underscore how human activity can drive species into decline and eventual extinction by contributing to habitat loss, overuse and the introduction of invasive species and diseases.
The announcement came as the Endangered Species Act turns 50 years old. Throughout the year, the Department of the Interior has celebrated the ESA’s importance in preventing imperiled species’ extinction, promoting wildlife recovery and conserving the habitats they depend on. The ESA has been highly effective and credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction.
The final rule to delist 21 species from the ESA due to extinction was published in the Federal Register on Oct. 17 and became effective 30 days after publication.
So, why the slim glimmer of hope for the ivory-billed woodpecker and the sad finality of the fate of Bachman’s warbler?
For people familiar with the bird who knew where to look, Bachman’s warbler continued to be observed from the mid-1880s to 1910. About that time, clear-cutting of southern forests began replacing selective logging, resulting in a much more devastating loss of habitat.
By the 1930s, sightings were rare, and in 1940 the last definite winter sighting was recorded. The last male specimen was collected on March 21, 1941, on Deer Island, Mississippi, while the last female specimen was collected on Feb. 28, 1940, on Ship Island, Mississippi.
Reports of birds from the Missouri and Arkansas breeding grounds lasted through the 1940s, while birds were reported breeding in South Carolina’s I’on Swamp until 1953. Individuals were reported from Fairfax County, Virginia, in 1954 and 1958, and a male was seen singing near I’on Swamp in April 1962.
On March 30, 1977, an immature female was seen in Brevard County, Florida. The last confirmed observation was in Louisiana in 1988.
Warblers are short-lived birds, so populations, although diminished, must have continued to exist to allow these sporadic appearances.
Unfortunately, no intensive effort was ever launched to save the species, at least not on the scale of projects to save whooping cranes, California condors, bald eagles and peregrine falcons.
Two other warblers — the golden-cheeked warbler of Texas and the Kirtland’s warbler of Michigan — remain endangered. Others, including cerulean warbler, are close to the edge.
Why this profile on a bird none of us will ever get to see? That’s simple. No creature should be allowed to simply blink out of existence. The Bachman’s warbler, like everything else in creation, was a marvel. Remember this fragile little bird and maybe we can be certain no others ever have to be added to a list of extinct species.
•••
To ask a question, share a sighting or make a comment, email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.
Our Fine Feathered Friends 