Improving habitat for forest birds: Landscape and stand-level - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Improving habitat for forest birds: Landscape and stand-level - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Improving habitat for forest birds: Landscape and stand-level management recommendations Black-throated blue warbler, Kelly Colgan Azar, Flickr CC Outline Audubon background Status forest and bird populations Quality habitat for

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Improving habitat for forest birds:

Landscape and stand-level management recommendations

Black-throated blue warbler, Kelly Colgan Azar, Flickr CC

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Outline

  • Audubon background
  • Status forest and bird populations
  • Quality habitat for forest birds
  • Landscape scale
  • Stand-level
  • Examples of forest management to improve habitat
  • Audubon example
  • Questions
  • Head to the woods!
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National

  • Twenty-three state programs
  • 41 Audubon nature centers
  • Nearly 500 local chapters
  • Work together on shared

priorities New York

  • 6 office locations in NY
  • 7 centers and sanctuaries
  • 27 Audubon Chapters

National Audubon

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Coasts Climate

Our Strategic Priorities

Water Bird Friendly Communities Working Lands

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Healthy Forests Initiative

  • Priority forest areas
  • Focus conservation efforts
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New York Forests

  • 19M acres
  • 25% publically owned
  • 3M acres can’t be managed
  • 7M acres have management plans
  • 2M acres are certified
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SLIDE 8

Benefits of Forests

  • Watershed protection
  • Flood control
  • Soil erosion prevention
  • Carbon sequestration
  • Forest products
  • Recreation
  • Wildlife
  • Aesthetics
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Current Conditions

  • Lack of young or late

successional forest age classes

  • Tree species diversity –

northern hardwood closed canopy forests may lack shade intolerant or intermediate species

  • Species loss due to forest

pests

  • Interfering vegetation
  • Regeneration issues
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Acadian Flycatcher Yellow-throated Vireo Olive-sided Flycatcher American Goldfinch Chestnut-sided Warbler Prairie Warbler American Redstart Cooper's Hawk Prothonotary Warbler American Woodcock Downy Woodpecker Purple Finch Baltimore Oriole Eastern Towhee Red Crossbill Black-and-white Warbler Eastern Whip-poor-will Red-shouldered Hawk Black-billed Cuckoo Eastern Wood-Pewee Rose-breasted Grosbeak Blackburnian Warbler Evening Grosbeak Ruffed Grouse Blackpoll Warbler Golden-winged Warbler Scarlet Tanager Black-throated Blue Warbler Hooded Warbler Sharp-shinned Hawk Black-throated Green Warbler Least Flycatcher Veery Blue-winged Warbler Louisiana Waterthrush Willow Flycatcher Broad-winged Hawk Northern Flicker Wood Thrush Brown Thrasher Northern Goshawk Worm-eating Warbler Canada Warbler Northern Saw-whet Owl Yellow-billed Cuckoo Cerulean Warbler

Priority Forest Birds

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Priority Forest Birds

Black-throated Blue Warbler Canada Warbler Wood Thrush Cerulean Warbler

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Nearly 1/3 of 90 eastern forest bird species have experienced significant population declines over the past 50 years.

1966-2013 BBS Survey-wide

  • Pop. Decline (%)

Cerulean Warbler 75.0 Golden-winged Warbler 66.5 Canada Warbler 66.2 Wood Thrush 63.6 Prairie Warbler 60.6 American Woodcock 48.2 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 28.8

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Habitat for Forest Birds: A Conservation Concern

Loss of quality habitat

  • Forest fragmentation
  • Increased forest “edge”
  • Interfering vegetation
  • Deer overabundance
  • Homogenous forest structure
  • Forest pests
  • Climate change

Wood thrush, Kelly Colgan Azar, Flickr CC

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Quality Habitat for Forest Birds

  • Diversity is key
  • Landscape and stand-level

habitat conditions

Black-throated blue warbler, Flickr CC Nicholas A. Tonelli, Flickr CC

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Young forest nesting species

Prairie warbler, Jeff Bryant, Flickr CC Eastern towhee, Ellen and Tony, Flickr CC

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Mature forest nesting species

Scarlet Tanager, Kelly Colgan Azar, Flickr CC Wood thrush, Kelly Colgan Azar, Flickr CC

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Species nesting in multiple forest age classes

Evening grosbeak, Rejean J Deschenes, Flickr CC Northern parula, Flickr CC

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The Need for Young Forest

  • Habitat for young forest dependent nesting birds
  • Habitat for post-fledging period
  • Includes mature forest nesting birds
  • Stop-over habitat during migration

(Anders et al. 1998, Vega Rivera et al. 1998, DeGraaf et al. 2006, Vitz and Rodewald 2006, King et al. 2011, Vitz and Rodewald 2011, Chandler et al. 2012, Stoleson 2013).

Linnea Rowse, Audubon NY

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Landscape-level Habitat Conditions

  • Diversity of forest age classes
  • 5-10% Young age class: 0-10 years (+/-)

(Rosenberg et al. 1999, King et al. 2001, Dettmers 2003, Becker et al. 2011) likeaduck, Flickr CC Linnea Rowse, Audubon NY

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Stand-level Habitat Conditions

  • Habitat features that can be created/improved through management
  • Apply to mature forest stands, and some to young forest stands

Nicholas A. Tonelli, Flickr CC

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Vertical Structural Diversity

  • Layering of vegetation
  • Multiple canopy layers
  • Highly beneficial to many

forest breeding birds

  • Managed by creating canopy

gaps

(DeGraaf et al. 2006, Newell and Rodewald 2011)

Nicholas A. Tonelli, Flickr CC

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Species Diversity

  • Native, non-invasive plants
  • Manage for a diversity of

species of varying shade tolerance

  • Control interfering vegetation
  • Ensures that birds have available

food sources, including insects and mast

  • Provides for habitat associations

that birds have for particular tree and shrub species

(DeGraaf et al. 2006)

Nicholas A. Tonelli, Flickr CC

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Large Diameter Trees

  • Nest trees for raptors, owls,

and canopy nesting songbirds

  • Hardwood trees: 24 in. DBH
  • Softwood trees: 20 in. DBH
  • Bonus if also a cavity tree!

(DeGraaf et al. 2006, Newell and Rodewald 2011)

Nicholas A. Tonelli, Flickr CC

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Softwood Inclusions

  • Desired breeding habitat for

some forest birds

  • Retain or promote some

softwoods where they occur, especially within predominantly hardwood stands

  • A small cluster of softwood

trees can have high habitat value

(Yamasaki et al. 2000, DeGraaf et al. 2006)

Nicholas A. Tonelli, Flickr CC

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Dead Standing Trees and Cavity Trees

  • Nesting, foraging, roosting for many

wildlife species

  • Ideal:
  • Six snags or cavity trees per acre
  • One ≥ 18 inches DBH, and three

≥ 12 inches DBH

  • No snags or cavity trees?
  • Create snags
  • In clearcuts or seed tree sites, keep

some cavity trees and snags as reserves

(Hagan and Grove 1999, DeGraaf et al. 2006, Yamasaki and Leak 2006, Bryan 2007, Bennett 2010)

Red-bellied woodpecker, Matt MacGillivray, Flickr CC

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Downed Woody Material (DWM)

  • Coarse woody material

(CWM)

  • Protect existing DWM during

harvest operations and

  • Increase DWM by leaving

poor quality logs and cull material, tree tops, or other slash

  • Providing CWM of different

size classes and stages of decay is ideal

(DeGraaf et al. 2006, Bennett 2010) Nicholas A. Tonelli, Flickr CC

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  • The impact of your property depends on its relative size
  • The larger the property the more effect you can have
  • But…..managing your small property can also have positive

effects

How Can I Influence an Entire Landscape?

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  • What is around you?
  • Who owns it?
  • How was it managed?
  • How is it likely to be managed?

Consider the surrounding properties to help inform your management decision

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 Removing single or small groups of trees  Allows some sunlight to regenerate shade-tolerant species

and creates vertical structural diversity

Uneven-aged Management

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 Clearing all or nearly all trees in an area  Light reaches the forest floor, promoting regeneration,

  • ften of pioneer species such as birches, cherries, and

aspen

 A young forest is created

Even-aged Management

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Rheinstrom Hill Audubon Sanctuary and Center

  • Forest Demonstration Site
  • Creating young forest habitat
  • Challenges: high deer densities, invasive

plants, lack of markets for low grade wood

Larry Federman, Audubon NY David Decker, Audubon NY

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Pre-Management Work

Land Owner Forest Stewardship Plan

  • General Property

Location and Description

  • Landowner Goals
  • Stand Descriptions

and Maps

  • Forest Management

Recommendations: 10 year Work Plan

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Pre-Management Work

Surveys

  • Bird and Vegetation

Surveys were Conducted Prior to Management and will continue to measure the response to management

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Management

– All woody invasive species were treated prior to cutting – Trees were cut using a “Chop and Drop” method – A minimum of 5 snags were acre – 10 seed trees per acre were left – Deer exclosure installed to allow for regeneration without browse pressure

Management

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1. Work with a professional forester to have a forest management plan done for your property

  • Continue to work with a forester on the details and on any specific

management action

2. Ask a wildlife biologist to provide input on your plan

  • Audubon New York staff can help
  • Technical assistance
  • Provide habitat management recommendations

Best Management Practices for Birds

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SLIDE 40

3. Think about the landscape and not just the stand 4. Help bring the landscape into balance with regard to successional stages of forest: – 5-10% young forest 5. Limit management activities during the breeding bird season (April – August) 6. Retain key features: conifers, tree species diversity, snags, downed woody debris, etc.

  • 7. Increase vertical structure in stands where it is lacking

Best Management Practices for Birds

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Technical guide for foresters

  • Integrates forest management

planning and silviculture with habitat improvements for forest birds

  • Recommendations applicable to

both small and large acreages

  • Builds upon Audubon’s research,
  • utreach, and technical assistance

efforts

  • PDF download: ny.audubon.org
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SLIDE 42

Suzanne Treyger Forest Program Manager Audubon New York streyger@audubon.org (607) 254-2122

likeaduck, Flickr CC

Dave Decker Land Manager Audubon New York ddecker@audubon.org (845) 265 2601