Boreal Birds of North America: A Hemispheric View of Their Conservation Links and Significance (Studies in Avian Biology)

Boreal Birds of North America: A Hemispheric View of Their Conservation Links and Significance (Studies in Avian Biology)

Jeffrey V. Wells

Language: English

Pages: 160

ISBN: 0520271009

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


Reaching from interior Alaska across Canada to Labrador and Newfoundland, North America’s boreal forest is the largest wilderness area left on the planet. It is critical habitat for billions of birds; more than 300 species regularly breed there. After the breeding season, many boreal birds migrate to seasonal habitats across the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. This volume brings together new research on boreal bird biology and conservation. It highlights the importance of the region to the global avifauna and to the connectivity between the boreal forest and ecoregions throughout the Americas. The contributions showcase a unique set of perspectives on the migration, wintering ecology, and conservation of bird communities that are tied to the boreal forest in ways that may not have been previously considered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

shifting states or gradual change? Ambio 33:361–365. Christensen, T. K. 1999. Effects of cohort and individual variation in duckling body condition on survival and recruitment in the Common Eider Somateria mollissima. Journal of Avian Biology 30:302–308. Corcoran, R. M., J. R. Lovvorn, M. R. Bertram, and M. T. Vivion. 2007. Lesser Scaup nest success and duckling survival on the Yukon Flats, Alaska. Journal of Wildlife Management 71:127–134. STUDIES IN AVIAN BIOLOGY NO. 41 Wells 8/24/11

(Jessen 1981), but in the past three decades, many areas of the NBF in western North America have warmed more rapidly than any other region on earth (Serreze et al. 2000). Sea ducks are the most northerly nesting of the ducks (Goudie et al. 1994), and climateinduced change, including alteration of wetlands (Smol and Douglas 2007), has been predicted to have the greatest effect on northern ecosystems (Soja et al. 2007). Migratory birds such as the Surf Scoter occupy the NBF for 3–4 months of the

Palm Warbler Dendroica palmarum palmarum “Yellow” Palm Warbler Dendroica p. hypochrysea 4,417 Bay-breasted Warbler Dendroica castanea 9,056 Blackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata 37,739 Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia 22,797 Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis 24,367 Connecticut Warbler Oporornis agilis 2,374 Mourning Warbler Oporornis philadelphia 7,800 2,842 195 10,420 187 1 72 83 40,378 2,554 228,791 10 17,010 APPENDIX 6.1 (continued)

such as the Common Loon (Gavia immer) (Burgess and Meyer 2008; Evers et al. 2008), only recently has the availability of MeHg in wetland birds been identified as a major threat (Schwarzbach et al. 2006). Concentrations deemed to have adverse effects on egg hatchability, based on Heinz et al. (2008), have been documented for wild breeding populations of Icterids, including the Redwinged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) (Evers et al. 2005) and Rusty Blackbird (Evers, pers. comm.). Current sampling

differences in the availability of small trees rather than geographic variation in preference. Winter Habitat Characteristics As in other temperate zone blackbirds, Rusty Blackbirds have two distinct habitat needs during the non-breeding season: foraging areas and roosting sites. In terms of foraging areas, Rusty Blackbirds winter primarily in wet bottomland hardwood forests (Avery 1995). They are common in areas of continuous semi-flooded forest, but in drier areas they can be seen in

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