Kirtland’s Warbler Puppet
The Kirtland’s Warbler Puppet was created by Toni Mikulka-Chang to bring attention to one of North America’s rarest and most conservation-dependent songbirds. The Kirtland’s warbler is a species whose survival depends almost entirely on active habitat management, and its story is often used as a powerful example of both how fragile ecosystems can be and how effective long-term conservation can be when people commit to it.
This puppet was created as part of a series of bird and wildlife figures meant to make endangered and threatened species visible, personal, and emotionally resonant in public space.
Materials & Construction
The Kirtland’s Warbler Puppet is made in the same lightweight, expressive style as the Burrowing Owl:
Head: Sculpted from reed
Body: Made from silk
Structure: Lightweight internal supports designed for performance and procession
The materials keep the puppet light, mobile, and well-suited for outdoor educational events, parades, and performances.
Scale, Movement & Performance
The Kirtland’s Warbler Puppet is designed to move at a human, approachable scale, allowing it to travel through crowds, nature trails, and performance spaces in a way that feels intimate rather than monumental.
(Specific dimensions and puppeteering method can be added here if you want.)
Purpose & Ongoing Life
The Kirtland’s Warbler Puppet exists as a storytelling and education tool—helping audiences connect emotionally with a species whose fate is tightly linked to careful stewardship of land and habitat.
As part of ArtJoy’s Giant Puppets Save the World collection, the Kirtland’s Warbler continues to appear in performances, parades, and educational settings that focus on biodiversity, habitat protection, and the idea that conservation success is something that must be actively maintained, not taken for granted.
