Forest Songbird Management

-pest control

-seed dispersal

-food source

birds are necessary for what ecosystem functions

Songbirds

-suborder Oscines within passeriformes

-Characterized by highly developed vocal organs and complex songs

Territory defense and mate acquisition

songbirds use complex songs for what

-forests

-woodlands

-or trees for a critical part of their breeding cycle

what do forest songbirds require

-Forest age

-Forest structures

-Forest composition

what are the different habitat requirements each speceis has

420

How many total birds in Alabama

134 songbirds, 78 breeding

how many song birds in alabama, how many breeding singbirds

-inactive agricultural fields

-backyard feeders

-tropical forests for migrants

what are some important winter habitats

Migration

what happens in the spring

Neotropical Migratory birds (NTMB)

-breed in North America and Winter in central America, south America, or the caribbean

-~ 200 spp, majority are songbirds

Risk and cost

migration has a high what

Dense shrub Thickets and costal forests

what are some important migration habitats

Summer tanager

-Migrates 600-4350 miles

-breeds in SE Canada and E US, including Alabama

-breeding habitat is open hardwood forests, or oak pine forests, prefer gaps and edges

Cerulaen Warbler

-migrates 2175-4500 miles

-Breeds in SE Canada and E US, including NE alabama

-Winters in Northwest south america Venezuela to Bolivia

-priority 1 species at July Alabama non games conference

-Habitat: Large areas of mature hardwood forests, rivers valleys preferred

-longest warbler migration

-non-stop 2000 miles 72 hour flight departing from Nothern NE and arriving in SA

-8000 miles from alaska to brazil

16

how many unique feeding locations did MacArthurs warblers have in the conifer

-canopy

-midstory

-shrub

-ground

-cavity

what makes up forest structure

Canopy nesting birds

-cups or suspended nests in mature trees

-15-30m off the ground

-aerial hawking (winged insects)

-leaf gleaming - arthropods, lepidoptera larvae or spides

include Yellow throated warbler and Orchard oriole

mid story nesting birds

-cup nest in young saplings, and overgrown shrubs

-2.5-6m off the ground

-aerial hawking (winged insects)

-leaf gleaming

-ground gleaming

-include Wood thrush and red eyed vireo

shrub nesting birds

-cup or semi-suspended nest in low dense shrub

-nest positioned in branching stem fork

-nest height 0.3-1.5m

-ground gleaming (seeds and beetles)

-Leaf gleaming (spiders and insects)

-include indigo bunting and eastern towhee

ground nesting birds

-open cup or dome built with grass or leaves

-Nest height 0-3cm

-ground gleaming (beetles)

-leaf-gleaning low branches (Adult and larval insects, ants)

-include kentucky warbler and ovenbird

Cavity nesting

-primary cavity nester (excavates)

-secondary cavity nesters (users)

-variable nesting height

-ground gleaners (ants, ground beetles, nuts, seeds, berries)

-bark gleaners (beetles and larvae)

-aerial hawking (flying insects)

-include Red headed woodpecker, northern flicker, carolina chickadee

1. species level

2. population level

3. habitat level

4. microhabitat level

orders of habitat selection

stand scale

where does most management occur at

canopy closure

proportion of sky obscured by canopy vegetation when viewed from a single point

plant structure

the way in which vegetation is arranged in 3D space (horizontal and vertical structure)

-light

-water

-soil nutrients

what is understory growth limited by

-even aged

-uneven aged

-understory

types of hardwood management

-Clear cut

-Shelterwood

-Seed tree

types of Even aged cuts

-group selection

-single tree selection

-retention harvest

types of uneven tree age cuts

-Mechanical thin

-herbicide

-retention harvest

types of understory cuts

even-aged techniques

what is very beneficial for early successional or disturbance dependent species

Clearcut

Cutting all the trees in a previous stand

seed tree

small number of trees left up to produce seeds, then once produced they are cut down

shelterwood

cutting trees uniformly throughout the stand, in patches or groups or in strips

group selection

trees are removed in small groups. small openings provide micro environments suitable for tolerant regeneration and the larger openings provide conditions suitable for more intolerant regeneration

Single tree selection

individual trees are removed from a stand

3

BA retained in Clearcut

12

BA retained in shelterwood

17

BA retained in Group selection

17

BA retained in single tree selection

22

BA of a mature control of a stand

-Yellow-breasted chat

-Prairie warbler

birds that like larger openings, and are more abundant in even aged stands

-indigo bunting

-blue winged warbler

-hooded warbler

-white-eyed vireo

birds that like smaller gaps in mature forests, and are more abundant in uneven aged stands

-Mechanical thin

-Prescribed fire

-Herbicide

how can understory management be done

Snags and Slash

important nesting substrate for cavity nesters and some shrub or ground nesters

-predation

-brood parasitism

-invasive plant species

increased fragmentation may encourage what

Brown headed cowbirds

what bird displays brood parasitism