Old Field Succession and Changing Bird Life
Auxiliary Site at Field 4
Comparison of Bird Catch in Contrasting Habitats
To be a haven for a diversity of species, �fields need to be
��
The Climax Woods
This narrow climax woods is also compromised by deer browse. There is virtually no shrub layer and only sparse ground cover. The woods serve as a corridor between more suitable habitats.
About 200 great hardwood trees fell in the three control woods, starting with Hurricane Irene in the summer of 2011, followed by the freak October wet-snow storm, and Tropical Storm Sandy of 2012.
This is nature’s own experiment. I am watching how birds utilize the open spaces.
Maybe tree seedlings among the fallen branches can escape deer browse.
Update: they cannot escape so I am caging them.
To be a safe haven for Neotropical birds woods need to be:
Remember how in the breeding season vegetative structure was more important than vegetative species?
In the fall vegetative species are more important than structure. The birds want fruiting shrubs.
Gray Catbird
Another long-term project is Aging and Sexing Catbirds by External Characteristics
Hatch-year Catbird in first fall plumage
Migrating juvenile Catbirds have brown eyes and pink mouths, distinct from the blackberry eyes and black mouths of the adults.
A steep net lane in Guatemala.
A funny Catbird story if there is time:
Ask me later.
Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS)
Institute for Bird
Populations 2015 Report:
MAPS Stations
In North America,
and MoSI Stations
(monitoring winter
Survivorship) in
Central America
Over 1400 stations
The next twenty years 2000 to 2019:
The tail tells the tale
Two tail feathers are pulled: for DNA analysis to determine which cohort the bird belongs to;
for stable isotope (heavy hydrogen) analysis to determine latitude where the feather was grown.
Cooperating bird banders pull the feathers and send them to the UCLA Institute of Tropical Research. Various researchers analyze them in their labs.
2006 ongoing
Living Bird
Winter 2016, p 16
Other ongoing projects:
Removing an Ixodes tick from a Veery
Tick borne diseases
Between 2001 – 2008, we examined 5591 birds of 93 species for ticks. 228 birds of 24 species had at least one Ixodes tick.
The ticks were found to be negative for Borrelia burgdorferi.
(HB Vuong, JL Hui, HB Suthers 2009).
Locally birds were seen as sinks or dilution factors for Lyme’s Disease.
Ticks feeding on birds instead of mice were not picking up the Lyme’s bacteria.
Between 2009 – 2017, 453 more ticks from 2386 birds were collected, now being studied for other pathogens (JL Occi, 2019).
A Princeton graduate student has the 2018-2019 ticks.
Cloacal swab to �detect residual �H5N1 virus.��2006-2009
20,000 samples were collected from
250 MAPS stations in North and Central
America.
Results: Migratory songbirds are
not potential distribution vectors
Of Avian Flu.
Hybridization studies��Lawrence’s Warbler
Blue-winged warblers arriving at Featherbed Lane in 1974 to breed already had a distant history of hybridization.
Hybrids appeared repeatedly without the presence of Golden-winged Warblers.
HB Suthers and SP Graesser (2013)
See a list of papers on the FBL website
http://hopewell-birds.freehostia.com
Hybrid chickadee project:
Acknowledgements
Deep-felt gratitude to:
The D & R Greenway Land Trust for negotiating the purchase of the old farm in 1997 for continuing research.
Mercer County for the ongoing use of Sommer Park Preserve by Featherbed Lane Bird Banding and Research Station.
All volunteers for their extraordinary time commitment that makes this banding station possible.
Washington Crossing Audubon Society Birdathon for funding mist nets and other large expenses, for bush hogging by James Irish Inc.
The late WP Protzman, CS Magee and others for the photographs.