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Ecology and Management of Scrub-Shrub Birds in New England: a Comprehensive Review

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Ecology and Management of Scrub-Shrub Birds in New England: a Comprehensive Review Ecology and Management of Scrub-shrub Birds in New England: A Comprehensive Review Submitted to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Resource Inventory and Assessment Division August 30, 2007 By Scott Schlossberg Department of Natural Resources Conservation University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 And David I. King USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 Table of Contents Executive Summary........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1. The New England Scrub-shrub Bird Community........................................................4 Chapter 2. Scrub-shrub Habitats..................................................................................................12 Chapter 3. Status and Trends of Scrub-shrub Bird Populations ..................................................21 Chapter 4. Habitat Preferences ....................................................................................................42 Chapter 5. Patch and Landscape Ecology....................................................................................58 Chapter 6. Factors Influencing Reproductive Success ................................................................68 Chapter 7. Movement and Dispersal............................................................................................77 Chapter 8. Winter and Migration.................................................................................................83 Chapter 9. Management and Research Recommendations..........................................................90 References.....................................................................................................................................94 Scientific Names of Plants and Animals.....................................................................................118 Executive Summary ♦ We conducted a review and synthesis of the literature pertaining to the ecology and conser- vation of scrub-shrub birds in New England. ♦ We identified 41 bird species that regularly breed in scrub-shrub habitats in New England. The composition of the scrub-scrub bird community varies substantially by geographic re- gion. ♦ Scrub-shrub habitat is uncommon in New England and makes up roughly 12% of New Eng- land’s land area. Most of this habitat (71%) is located in Maine. Southern New England has far less scrub-shrub habitat, and the overall amount of scrub-shrub habitat in New Eng- land is declining. ♦ Most (78%) of the scrub-shrub habitat in New England is regenerating forest created by logging, but the proportion of New England’s forests in an early-successional stage (19%) is much lower than other regions of the eastern U.S. ♦ Twenty-one scrub-shrub bird species have shown long- or short-term declines in New Eng- land, and declining species outnumber increasing species by 3 to 1. These declines have become more pronounced in the past few decades, and are most severe in central and south- ern New England. Bird populations are relatively stable in the northern part of this region. ♦ Habitat use varies among species. Though most species (90%) will nest in clearcuts, some species occur only in other types of scrub-shrub habitats. Thus, no single type of manage- ment will accommodate all of the region’s bird species. ♦ Many scrub-shrub birds show consistent patterns of changing abundance over successional stages in the first 20 years after logging, and nearly all scrub-shrub species disappear from 1 clearcuts by 20 years after logging, when the canopy closes and the understory is shaded out. ♦ Because of specificity to successional stages, scrub-shrub birds occupy an average of 50% of regenerating clearcuts up to year 20. Thus, estimates of scrub-shrub habitat based on for- est inventories may be too high for many species. ♦ Most scrub-shrub birds avoid edges and, with a few exceptions, prefer larger (> 1-4 ha) patches of habitat. ♦ The few studies examining how landscape-level availability of scrub-shrub habitat affects avian abundances have found inconsistent results. ♦ Nest success rates vary among bird species and habitats, but there was little evidence for edge or area effects on nesting success. ♦ According to a meta-analysis, site fidelity rates of adult scrub-shrub birds are comparable to those of forest birds. Thus, scrub-shrub birds are not, as a group, “fugitive” species as as- serted previously. ♦ All but 4 of New England’s 41 scrub-shrub birds winter south of New England, with winter species richness highest along the Gulf Coast of Texas and in Panama and Costa Rica. ♦ Most scrub-shrub birds winter in open, scrubby habitats similar to their breeding habitats. These habitats should be widely available due to logging, especially in the Neotropics. Six species, however, winter in mature forests, making them susceptible to tropical deforesta- tion. ♦ Most scrub-shrub birds prefer scrubby, open habitats for stopover on migration. ♦ Based on our review of the literature, we make the following recommendations for manag- ing scrub-shrub birds in New England: 1) Create more scrub-shrub habitat, especially in 2 southern New England. 2) Ensure that a variety of habitats, beyond just clearcuts, are avail- able for birds. 3) To maximally benefit bids, patches of scrub-shrub habitat should be at least 1 ha in size and have regular shapes, avoiding irregular edges. ♦ More research is needed on several aspects of the ecology of scrub-shrub birds. Priorities for future research should include better monitoring and assessment of scrub-shrub habitats, estimating demographic parameters under a variety of ecological conditions, improved monitoring of bird populations, and determining impacts of landscape structure and con- figuration on birds. 3 Chapter 1. The New England Scrub-shrub Bird Community Introduction As a starting point, we sought out expert opin- Scrub-shrub habitats in New England contain ions on which birds are characteristic of New a diverse and varied breeding bird community. England shrublands. We were able to find four For instance, a shrubby power line corridor may independently created lists of birds breeding in hold Chestnut-Sided Warblers and Eastern Tow- early-successional habitats in this region hees. Clearcuts in coniferous forests may harbor (Peterjohn & Sauer 1993; DeGraaf & Yamasaki White-throated Sparrows and Magnolia Warblers, 2001; Hunter et al. 2001; Dettmers 2003). These and shrubby wetlands may have breeding Wil- “expert lists,” developed for review papers or to son’s Snipe and Yellow Warblers. Some shrub- analyze bird population trends by habitat, seemed land birds, like Golden-winged Warbler and a straightforward basis for our list. Unfortunately, Mourning Warbler, nest only in early- the expert lists showed substantial disagreement successional habitats and are rarely found in for- over just what species breed in shrublands. All ests. Others, such as Northern Cardinal or Caro- four lists included obvious species such as Brown lina Wren will breed in closed forests with a Thrasher and Golden-Winged Warbler. At the shrubby understory. To manage this diverse as- same time, 45 bird species occurred on only one semblage of birds and their habitats, it is impor- or two of the lists. tant to know just what species would actually To resolve this confusion, instead of building benefit from the creation of scrub-shrub habitat our list directly from the expert lists, we chose to and which would not. supplement the lists with a quantitative analysis of Here, we develop a list of core species breed- avian habitat usage. To this end, we conducted a ing in New England shrublands. This list serves meta-analysis of birds’ habitat preferences across as a basis for the literature review and manage- successional stages. Our goal was to determine ment recommendations that follow. The scope of the relative preference of each bird species for this review is the six states of New England— early- or late-successional habitats. This would Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Ver- provide quantitative data on birds’ usage of scrub- mont, New Hampshire, and Maine. As mentioned shrub habitat and provide an additional source of above, the scrub-shrub bird community varies data, beyond the expert lists. substantially across this region, and we will em- For the meta-analysis, we located studies that phasize these differences throughout this report. compared the abundances of birds between early- and late-successional forests in the eastern United Building the species list States or eastern Canada. To obtain sufficient What are the scrub-shrub birds of New Eng- sample sizes, we included studies from outside land? This simple question proved surprisingly New England. All studies, however, took place in difficult to answer. For some ornithologists, the forest types (oak-hickory, northern hardwoods, or list would include all birds that ever use scrub- spruce-fir) found in New England. We located shrub habitats. Others might restrict the list to published studies using Web of Knowledge and species that are only found in scrub. We sought a Biological Abstracts as well as through papers’ middle ground between these two extremes. citations. To be included in the meta-analysis, a Remsen (1994) suggested that species lists should study had to compare avian abundances between be based on “core” species that are early-successional and late-successional forests. “characteristic” of their
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