Veery (Catharus fuscenscens) Mike Bishop
Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Ottawa Co., OH 5/13/2008 © Darlene Friedman (Click to view a comparison of Atlas I to II)
The otherworldly, “descending-spiral” song of Since Veeries prefer second growth forests with a well-developed shrub layer, they are amenable the Veery is often the only evidence one has of to the abundant regenerating forests found this common, but elusive, forest breeder. throughout Michigan. However, because they Nesting in dense thickets of damp forests and are area sensitive, many of the smaller, wooded marsh edges, male Veeries rarely fragmented woodlots throughout the SLP are expose themselves on conspicuous perches to inadequate for breeding purposes (Bevier et al. sing even when defending a territory (Bevier et 2005). Consequently, they are best represented al. 2005). Their breeding range extends over in the more extensive forest tracts of the NLP much of southern Canada and the northern U.S. and UP. following both the Appalachian and Rocky mountain ranges south at altitudes generally Breeding Biology above 900 m. Veeries winter in a relatively Veeries arrive in the LP by mid May and the UP small region of south central and southeast by late May. Breeding occurs between late May Brazil (Remsen 2001). and late July, and fledging is completed by late
July. Veery nests usually are found on or near Distribution the ground deep within thickets providing cover Other than population losses in the SLP due to and reducing detection. This is supported by the urbanization and agriculture, Veery distribution fact that breeding confirmation was reported for throughout the state has changed little since just 3% of townships surveyed. Migration of before European settlement (Winnett-Murray adults begins around mid August, reaching its 1991). Veeries can still be found in most wet, peak in mid September. wooded areas in Michigan. While the southern border of the state roughly conforms with the While confirmed breeding evidence was southern border of its breeding range, the lower difficult to obtain, probable and possible frequency of detections in this part of the state breeding evidence was abundant due to their are just as likely attributable to human easily detectable song. Of the townships alteration of habitat as to latitudinal changes in surveyed, 22% gave probable evidence of the ecosystem. breeding and 34% gave possible evidence. Due
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Veery (Catharus fuscenscens) Mike Bishop to these factors, it is likely that the estimates of increased pressure from nest predators and nest breeding confirmation fall short of the actual parasites (e.g. Brown-headed Cowbird), both number of breeding birds. likely sources of pressure on breeding populations. Furthermore, impacts on the Abundance and Population Trends quality of the wintering grounds will also affect BBS data show that Veeries are in decline Veery numbers. Finally, as with all nocturnal throughout their geographic range, with two migrants, collisions with buildings, cell towers, states being exceptions. Michigan is one of and wind turbines, all of which are increasing in these (West Virginia the other), with BBS data number, will continue to pose a threat to Veery for Veery showing an increase since 1966, abundance (Taylor 1972, Shire et al. 2000, though markedly slowing from 1980 to 2007. A Erickson et al. 2001). closer look at BBS data during 1966-1996, using the estimating equations procedure (Link and Sauer 1994), shows the SLP, the tip of the mitt and the eastern UP exhibit a population increases of greater than 1.5% per year while the western UP and the central and western NLP exhibit a decrease of greater than 1.5% per year (Sauer et al. 2008). Reasons for Michigan’s statewide trends in Veery populations as reported by the BBS are not obvious. For the state of Michigan as a whole, there is not a significant population trend during the two atlas periods and intervening years (1983-2007) (Sauer et al 2008). . MBBA II data shows a 6% statewide shift downward in detections from MBBA I. The NLP and UP had relatively small changes in detection compared to the SLP which dropped from 52% to 40% of townships. The second Ontario, and the New York breeding bird atlas efforts also found fewer detections in their second project. The Ontario breeding bird atlas showed consistent declines throughout the majority of the survey area (Friesen 2007). Similarly, BBS data for New York during 1966- 2005 demonstrated a 1.5% per year decline in Veery populations (Lowe and Hames 2008).
Conservation Needs Like many other forest breeding birds, Veeries are an area sensitive species. Therefore, fragmentation of breeding habitat will continue to pose a threat to population stability (Bevier et al. 2005). Fragmentation also results in
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Veery (Catharus fuscenscens) Mike Bishop
Literature Cited 5.15.2008. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Bevier, L.R., A.F. Poole, and W. Moskoff. Research Center, Laurel, Maryland, USA. 2005. Veery (Catharus fuscescens). The Shire, G.G., K. Brown, and G. Winegrad. 2000. Birds of North America Online. Cornell Communication Towers: A Deadly Hazard Lab of Ornithology. to Birds. American Bird Conservancy.
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center