This is bird note.

It's easy to think that most birds, like those were hearing,

prefer the habitats of mature ecosystems.

The reality, however, is more varied.

Some birds favor landscapes in flux, habitats in transition.

Consider the prairie warbler a beautiful yellow and black songbird.

Despite their name prairie warblers nest in tree farms, in fields overgrown with

scattered shrubs, and in clearings under power lines. Biologists call these habitats early successional,

that is, they're characterized by plants that first return to land altered by clearing or fire. Early successional nesters in eastern North America,

like the Prairie Warbler, have declined rapidly during the last 50 years.

They've been pressed from all sides. Forests have matured,

forest fires suppressed, too much herbicide has been used in tree farms,

and the warblers wintering habitat in Florida and the West Indies has been developed.

Prairie warblers then can benefit from conservation on several fronts.

The Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve was established in New Jersey's Pine Barons and in North Carolina

scientists are helping foresters promote the warbler's nesting success in tree farms.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein. You're going to be.