BIRD POPULATIOR IN VARIOUS ECOLOGICAL CO'n!UNITIES.

- -- - Agrie s Kugel. P'

Report on i+-g c&ts of the Adv~ncedOrnitilology cl~ssfrog June 29 -~uly'6, 1946. . (zoology 377-4. Cnarles Kencieign) Bird Po?-tilation In Various Bc~logicalCoarnunities.

Introduction. I - The Ornithology Class of The Biological Station ,Cneboygan

!tichiean, gde-rr-the _dii.._e_cCtion of S. C.Kendoigh -- visited- . - --.a represent------ative group of six plant communities durinq the sumer of 1946, These tri2s were msde between June 29 and July 6th to determine the bird ?opulation of a given area during the nesting sehson arid to note so far as possible the raasons for their presence.

Methods. The clzss working in fwo groups cruised througn the selected

i area hbou@feet apbrt and recorded all birds seen an6 heard in a measurec period of time. The average distarice trht-eled was 1 nile per hour. The popul~tionwas determined by converting tne actual

co-mt taken into the nsmber tnat voula be seen in ten nours in

the zhme are&. Cinze tnie we t.ile nesting Eekson it vrhs assume+bt

each mde seer. also meant tne pesence of a fe3de &rid thqs tile fiwl figures as given on tiie hccornpanyi;-g clikrt ceriote the potential number of pair: of birds for ezca conrn-ai'y. A similar

co-at -$;as worked out by Cr, Eendeigh for a linear disthnce of

12 ~ilesrhtner tmn trle nurnber for l"ilo;;rs,

Grasslbnd. Arch

This grzssy field on tne I~llztonroid boarcieree on one side

by the road an6 on t'm otner by & young Aspen gro:vtn nis h speciec

list of 6 gr&:slbnd bird5 anu 7 low ~kr~bbirds of tne for.est edse, The herbiceous zlarits include Asclepi~ssyrizca, Potentilla recth, The low silrubs ~omewntit ~~htterednetr tine young Aspens were pornus Ztolonifera, Hubus allegneniensis and Edix species. 1 The ground nesting birds hrsh dawk, Upland Plover, Pesper J 1 Eparrow, Meadowlark and Bob-o-link find plenty of nesting material 3 j , - in-the foryof dry grass- - -and. leaves; - - -need stalks and strips of S hark fro~the neighboring low shrubs. Tne vesper Eparrow nest found , .'-. ' -_ here was 3 in. in diaeter,made of grasses ana cup shaped. It c~in- - /' thined 3 small bluish eggs speckled with brown. The ~rairiefirned . -.-j . - - *. Lark presumab-ly nested on some of the bared ground in thLs grassy i' 3 " i" 1 plot as contrasted to the rk whose nekt is usually fpund

- / among the grasses and roofed over with thea . The Upland Plover makes a small depression in the grounu and linee it wita dry Trass. ; I . -- The Marsh iiawk and BobLA3 04 ink use the aviilable ahterials and shape a nest in proportion to their size. OC-the forezt ed~ebir~s Bluebirds an6 Sttrling~were present beckuse of tne dead 2rurlus penrlsylvanic~in wnirh the Ekarling nect mhs found ana tne fence posts on three :ides of tne field where the Bluebirds probayly nested. Tne coldf inch and nrourning Dove v1ere

?rob&?-lp nesting in tne low bunnes at tne edge, 1 tile Kircblrd

im tiis case rnose tne top of E stunp on wnlcll to rear asfkrnily. ' A "i~egrezence of tne Cov!bira, ke is tneir custon, is due to tne

presence of t group of neatinp birds wmse riesti sno cbn ~~sefor

tenporl=ril:i ~noecupitd. Tne Barn L1v~llowwas not r.esti:lg ir, the inqeditte vicinit~,isqiiite certkin in. tne ~bkerlceof buildings. for its su2gorted n4st. It is more likely to be searching for foad

vrhich he doe^ by flylng netirer to the groun6 tbn tae otner ewallloY$rn

do. Thic open field pro~ridedam:_.le room for vaneuvsring prilicfi fhctar is important to t~ieJpl~nu clover whase circlirig,risine flight to often extends over most of the field, and,the 'krsn Eawk o:nen he sohrs ovpr the field in search of food and t~lendives earthward. The food of tne RMarsh Hawk consists allnost entirely of field mice, . snakes, gophers, and insects which would account for its choice

result of nesting requirements for the main part and food require- gents in a few species.

Young As?en Area. . The y&ng aspens along the.'grassy fie16 were for the most phrt Populus tremuloiues. The low shrubs sere Betula phpyrifera, and Cornus stolonifera. Pteris aquilinh and 2-mex acetosella and Poa species were dominant in the ground cover. Of the 9 species of birds? seen ilere the Vesper Sparrow, Goldfirlcn mci Bluebird Fere also pres- ent in tne grassy field thougn ordinarily trle latter two are8essen- tiiilly woods edge birds. The clay-,d olored Sparow was ah-mdsnt in this sm;ll area and one could say almost exclusive to the area.Its nest is cornaonly mad? of .grbsses lined with lc-ig hirs and is found on the ~rou;,dor in low busnes. No nests vere identifiea positively by the class but three were found in low bu:.~em ib.ut 15 inches

frog tne :ro-w1d tnht were tilougnt to belorig to1 t~icC15~ Colored.

"r:e Cl;i: >in$ .CJr;~.rov:ilere is in it.. n:.tur,l u-bitbt of low snrubs

znd nests u~dr-liyfrog 5 to 29 feet above tile gro-u~.Trle Nightnhxk

since it ahkes no nest hpp;i,ently selects z territory becbuse of

theavaiieble food. In tlris czse t~ie lo^! siirabs ad trees of tile

forest ed~e2nd tne o2eri fielS sullplp trie desired insects. In tne

o?en iireis tne bird aay gake a aepression for egg: or lzy tnem directly on the gro-md. In cities tney frequently select tne to?s of buildings. In trlis area as well ts iri tne adjoining grisslanc? the nesting eight and 'material seems to be a aetermining fiictor in selecting a co~munity.

Aspen -Tine Area,

------A ------.- .-- The - sandy- upland near the fire- tower of the Station is- an area of Populus granaidenthta and Acer rubrum as dominant spacies,gmd Pinus resinosus as a secondary species. Tne ground plants for the gost part consist of ~terisaquilina and Vacciniun species, Tie hezvy leaf and needle cover lhit the nunber of ground plants, There

is no definite lox shrub or high shrub area but merely scattered .I^ plants representing this leger:: ln& absence of these plants limits s the number of woods edse birds. Tne larsest pogulatic,l count is - tut of tha Bed-eyed vireo and the ovengird. Tile Vireo makes a w pendant nest in the fork of a tree ususlly on t!aple,wi?ile the Quea Bird selects the fares: floor and mhkes a sli~htdepression wfrich he lines with grkss hnd fine hair. a&l?these bir6s feed on insects tney find anong th2 ty- ees. Another"- grow6 nesting bird . the Herrllit Thrush ezts aniaal ~atter,nostlyirisects, wil6 fruit and seeds. It prefers an evergreen forest probably because of its - etrly spring arrivhl knd late fhll departure. Of tile tree nesting bieds tne ~ehee,aubin, Redstart, Crow and 3l;rk- ld illed Tuckoo are mainly inseqt ehters and ret their food for the aoet part fron the forest floor and forest edge. Firds nesting in noles in trees or etuqps are Tree Swallow,

The Flicker,C-hick;. i-dee knd Crested Flycatcher. a?e mhinly insect feeders. The Pur?le Fincn hnd Pine 'Yarbler nest in Tine trees and both eht insects though the Purple Fincn nucn prefers seecs. We Purple Y !!zrtino were present bec&use of the proxizity of the area to the I !$artin house on the beach of Douglas Lake, they were apparently a searcnin? for food in t?le area. The nizhe requiremerlts of nost of tne tree nestin;! birds beeides foo; an.& nesting mbterials incluaes a singirlg post w,ricn may or rtlay aot % higher or lower ththeir nestinz site, depend- * 4 ing on the species, Ground nesting species as the Zermit Thrush - 5 and Oven Bidi ljilrewise require singing posts and, or pe~cwng ------posts for defen-g their territory. This associes provides nesting, fe2din.g and singing sites for 3 coniferous forest species,

13 low shr.~&.forestedge species an6 6 deciduous forest species. -r

Red Pine- F rea

This aspen associes located near Map2e fiver has ~o~;lustrem' J doides as a dor?zinant species and Pinus strobus ~ndP. resirio'sa as sub dominant species. The ground plants in the herbaceous layer - include the Aster Sp-,Cornu~Canadensis, Prageria virginiana and

Caultheria procubens as the aorninznt spe~ies.Of the low ground ~nr~bs,nacciniu?r canadens e, DieBvillh lonicera adRosa blknda were most abundant. At the hign shrub level Cornus stolonifera, salix bebbiana, Pinus sfrobus, P. resinosa and Tsugh canadensis were frequently found

In this area the Vesper Sparrorr, tnongn it kzs been found in the grassland and young Lspens , is tlgai~,noted in ths more mature ;ssociabion. This is probtbly do to need for a singing post bnd to t,i~epresence of plhnts bearing seeds for his diet.Tnese are us~bllyfound on tne forezt edge. The coniferous foregbirds here are the 2errnit Thush, Purpie Finci.1, r[yrtle 'narbler and Black- f nroitea qreen Y&rhlen.Of these the ?Tarbiers are insect e~ters,the Yyrtle choosing high bushes or lo~ertree brdncines for ner nest and tne Slack Tluozted Gresn selecting the higher brmches for its nest krid sons.

01 the de~iduousforest birds Crested Flycatcher, :'Toad Peewee, ~hj.~k-~-dee,Bed-??yedTireo &nd Oven Bird bve been discussed and their Tresence here indicates a similarity of nicne requirements in food, nesting naterials, ,song and flignt. Tne total population in tas area is soaewbt less though the actual speciss number is b - -. I bit larger. This decrease would be due to some'.&ck of nicbe . + sequireqents the-IBO~ oty-ious one here being ef -f-ood .--TD~ -acid condition of the soil in coniferous areas and the slow decay of - the needle cover makes the soil unproductive in plant life and like- wise in insect life o$dinarily found in the duff lsyers of the forest- . - The Downy Tovooripedker an ar& of tall, trees for insect hunt- ing but nest lower in a tree hollow or dead tree. The Blue Jays1 roam far from their nest of woven rootlets in the high shrub society irj search of their varied diet of vegetat.le ad anirnirl ahterial. Tne Ruffed Grouse finds a protective place for his nest in this dense wooded area with an occassional fallen log for a drumming stand. The ground plants -and tr~efruits nelp mage up his fpad. "'ne lox shrub society has 12 represen?ative species of which the Srom Thrasher, Towhee and slate-tolored Junco were not found in an aree without coniferous trees, tnis nay be just coincidence

since the Brown ?-masher is 6 f~restedye bird al-la L hve seen a n~stwitn young in this vicinity in 1345 built on tile ground under a loose br-asn pile. Tne Junco thougn it nests on the gro-md chocses tne thli Pinus resinosa as its singing post ~ncf~r this rekson alo~lesnigrlt nave cnozen tnis zrca.

In generzl tn5 presence of pines in trle ks2erl bss~ciationseeas tu provide nore silelter, singing yo~ts,newtype of ground cover and a vzriktion in the ~vailzbleseeas tna insects; these factors nauld airectly mem trle introduction oZ neT S2eciss. Reese's Bog Area Reesets bog, located at the North end of Burt Lake, is .- -. an exaxple of a mature bog area, It has a reestablished Thuja d 7

-3- association in which no' trees date back any' further th1870. - - _l_l------The Carex, Chamaedaphne, high bog shrub and Larix associations hve become extinct, the latter as a result of cutting and burn- * ing. The Picea association is represented by the P. glauca and - -._ .-P mariana- species but, with the Tnuja growing out at the top, tne - -8 > t *. * 4 - na- :" Picea will soon be replaced, In' some places- &selectiye, indis- e - criminate cutting has opened up the area and will lead to eventual destruction of t& reaaining tree; through wind action. The trees in t7his bog land have shallow root systeas and wnen swayed by tne wind will either be uprooted or. sna2ped off at tne top. Some 2ortions of tne area weeopened up to permit the

1 grontn of orchids and nave been veky successful. The fosse at tne Wortn end of tne bog ixis become filled witn vegetation and sand. Tnere are streamlets and underground drainage from Douglas Lhke flowing through the area but all indications of open water have been re~jved.

Tne roniferous forest s;:ecies, make up about 5 ntllf of the

2oi~ulhtit2nc~unt of this re&. Of tnese tne ?uqle Fihcn was

fo-md in all kreds containing Pine, E;_tr;cl~eor 3ev:lo?k. Tile

Myrtle "arbler an6 tno Black Tnroclte- Green '"arblzr t??e&r in

tne tno most dense tre.~sstucied. Tne ?!yrtle n5sts in an evergreen

slt 'ni7h sh~blevel ~ndtne Bldck *ilro;t~ci -Greenin the ilisner

brarich or tree thp ' level ds does t ne ,Blackburni&n'"izrF1- Ier. T11e ?arula chooses z site anon? the licn~nson an evergreen tree about - 5 to 39 feet kbove tile ground. In this sane group of Coniferous sseries tae "Tree Trunk Society" as described by A.C."woxey in Tne Bird Population Of An Elm-Yaple Forest, included the Yellow - Nellie6 Sapsucker, Giry 'Foo8pecker, Nuthatch,%it- / Feasted Nuthatch and Brom Creeper. These birds all nest in holes - i 4 in trees and feed on insec-ts found on the bark of trees: with the 2 '1 '1 the Sapsucker. This group of birds prefers conifero~s forests tnougn they may be found in other trees. The winter 'Dren

has aaagteir ' ta the- -mbit&t*nd will be f om6 nesting in the tan&d

roots of the upturned tree trunks ana singing from the branches 1 of these fallen trees. The sunny spaces which have opened up because -49 of cutting Bave increased the number of feeding ma singing ?rshs. The "ood Thrush; Veery, Scarlet 'Panager and Black-% hroated Blue are birds t;wt are exclusive to deciduous forest but are found here where tne Bspens are on tne decline and Thuja is the ao~~nantsjecier

Tne nicne rea~iregentsof an open brea for s7mingbrlu fe~dirlg

wnich &re usually found 0;. the forest eage may also be found in tne bog . Tne decrease in act~nlpogulation witn in Lncrease ir~ s~ecieP.nu~herpoints toward a decrehse ~n f~od'6f botn hnimal hnd veeetablf material. Tne ground vegetbtion dong tne fosse snd

strem ais $.Ate dense and ;I suc~ione 14iould expect gore hums anc grolxla duff for insects. In tne otnar portions of tne bog grourid ~7esat~t-onis at a rnininq becsuse of the 1;ck of liznt and tnqklow

dechy o' tile needle cover ca~b~neav!itn h11 hcia conciiti~nof the

sgil "n~cniz pre~rilentill gost corLif~~o'cls areas.

"he Colonit1 Point dbraaooae ae tnis irea is called is on Eu~t

2-ka tr~dLks. as its aoqii~tnttrees Arer eaccmrm and Fasus grhnai- f9lia witri an occasion~lTsuga canadensis ranging iB size fro3 5 to 8-13. fi aizmeter. Tnese arerelic spe-ies whicn rernained after tne gine ah;s luqber+ff in 1840. The high snrub hnd low shrub layers are for tne moat part saplings of the dominknt species. The -&

-- - -- L------.-. ------.- --- geourid cover of herbaceous plats iii~ludesSmilacina racemosa, Vai~ntne~umcanadensis, Trillium grandif lorum and Viola eriochrpa a-,- 2 of which zre exclusive in hrawoods cliy~xareas s~ndindicite a good fertile humus soil layer. In this study it would thereby

L indicate a good crop of ground insects &d 1-ar~tie, P The aominat bird cornmm~itynere is that of a aeciduous forest. New n2ecies char~cteristicof this area o&y are ~hite-peastea Nutnatc+east Flycatcher, hnd Barrdd Owl. For explanatioi~of tne nicne ren,uire-nents of the Least Flycatcner otner than those of fo--6, neat and song sites. Other deciduous forest bi6as found nere and in all other fore~tedareas we stuaiea are the 3ed-Fed Vireo, ~oe~$i.rd,Cnic bl-1 ~ee,?e&se an6 Cresteci Flycrtcner. Tnere mnner of gfttlllg food from the fiat leaf surfaces, of firldin&ather c,?n~;ic~~ussinging posts and of finding ne~tlncsltes ill trees( all but tn- Oven ~ird)are adequate reacoll~fo$mir mLlnbiting tne Ire&.

Tne only ~onifero~sbirds found in tk~Lna-dc; as are the Rlackbu-rnl;n '"arkler, Golcenxrx. olvned Kinglet, Blzck-tnrozteci preen '"krbler antl lur;>le Fincn, tne 1r;tttr is fou..aa i~iall tre6s ctudied except tne Grassland. A few low enrub comu:ity speclies incluae sucn birds as the rlowbird,fouljd in all &reas, the Robin and toe *Io~cr~irlgCove. Of the 22 species fo-ma in tne mrd~vooas&s coa2ared to 37 in 3eesefs bog ad 23 znci 25 re~~jectivslyin ae otner two arehs the 20;)~16tio11nere is greater by approxiaately 50$tm that of any of the other areas. TMs increase I would zttribute to the increased tne clinax of a Bog area or to the developaental stages of tne aspen hsrocittion. The wide virriition in nesting an^ sincimg sites of these birds listed ~ouldikriiTy lead to cornpetition over ------territoriee.

2ii;;~zry and Conclusions. 3

1. A study of six different plant comnunities yielded four bird - cosamunities namel7:- Grassland csmrnunity with 6 species. -. EhruQ,low trees, forest edge con~unitywith 25 species. Coniferous forest comm.nity with 14 species. Decidxous fore$t comzmLity with 19 species, i has 2. Bach&&rd conmulity similar niche repuireie#ks$mmaY ,' varyr rtn different-species. An sdequate-food su~;-y, nesting material, nesting site and si~gingperch are the factors to Ye cc;nslaer-d. Because of these reqdirenents cert~inbircis are re- stricted in their habittit to ii Limited area in a plant edaa~~~lity. 3. Firds of the forest edae were seen in the grasslad either in a song fliglit or a flight for food. 4. Some birds have no aefinite niche as the cowbird which is found in all conm?mities. Other birds hs the Pur2le Finch, Flicker, Peewee, Crested Flycatcher, Robin, Red-Eyed Vireo, Over. Bird, and Chick-a-dee were found in all of tire last fo2r &Teas deecribed. 5. Tne presence of a certain s;lecies in more tmn one plhnt connunity supgests eitner in adaptation to tile i~bitator k similirity i~one or more of tne rwrernent~of that species for survival.

& 6. The grestest riumber of bir; syecies ;re foma ir- tile "=?le-5%ech climkx krea beckuse it is an "dl age*' forest vit,:i seedlings bnd shplings groaicq in t,ie cmde of tile +re-rt trse.

7. ?he popAlstion in actuhl number^ decre=ses with hn increesed r.vber of conifer trees beckuse trle plat: co~2etefor lie~it ~ndtrleir hbcence on tne grouna surfhce hnd the srirab lryers means s decrehse in the insedt populztio Field Data - June 29 - July 6 Number of possible pairs for each commmity p /t I-&-& -Area Number - 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hours of observation-- 6 3 1* L Miles walked approximate^) - 4 3 1% 2: . Beech Cedar Aspen Grass- Aspen Type of forest - Maple Edsm Pine land repro- Aspen Hemlock Aspen dudtion Hemlock Colonial point 1. Reese's Biological Two miles Two miles Bryant's I Locality - of Burt Bog Station E. of E. of NE. of Lake Axea Pellston Pellston -Pellston t American redstart 92 Red-eyed viree: Ovenbird d Veery $c45 Wood peewee 37 Least flycatcher 2$ Black-throated green warbler 23 Scarlet tanager 17 Crested flycatcher 12 Red-breasted nuthatch 8 Blackburn ian warbler 8 Cowbird Wood thrush Black-capped chickadee 3 Robin 3 Purple finch 3 Coopert s hawk 2 Ruffed grouse 2 Flicker 2 Golden crested kinglet 2 Black and white warbler 2 Barred owl 2 Parulz wubler Nashville warbler Blue Jay Wlnter wren Blue-headed vireo Area Number - 1 2 '3 4 5 6

Mourning dove Cedar waxwing - White-throated- - - sparrow Nighthawk Wrtle warbler Slate-colored junco Yellow-bellied sapsucker Brown creeper Rub-crested kinglet Canada warbler Black-throated blue warbler Vesper eparrow Prairie horned lark E. meadow lark K ingbird Barn swallow Goldfinch Marsh ha* Upland plover Bluebird Starling Bobolink Clay-colured sparrow Chipping sparrow Tree swallow Crow Hermit thrush Purple martin Black-billed cuckoo Pine warbler Indtgo bunting Red-eyed towhee Brown thrasher Downy woodpecker

l.~eadstro~,Ric~rd.'IKboseNest Is That?,Xassacnusetts Audubon .a, Society,l55 Newbury Street,Boston,l944. I + g

I I i Z,Kendeigh,S.C.,Data From The Zoology 119 Class Trips. University of Biological tatiori, 1946. I! a ?i?Lcl.llgan S

I 3. Roberts,T.S., Birds Of I.dinnesota,Vol.l & ~01.ll.Ur~iversity af I Yifinesota Press, Ehneapolis, !iriiiesott.

4. Twomey,A.C., The Bird population of An Elm- Yaple Forest, ~v Ecological Monographsi Agril 1945, r+ .,* . +. I . .,_ . 4't .-Z3 0 . -