A land manager's guide to conserving habitat for forest birds in ...

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European Starlings—Photo: J. Fuhrman/VIREO Landscape Composition The habitat quality of a forest patch needs to be considered in a landscape context. For instance, the value of a 50 ha forest fragment in providing habitat for area sensitive birds depends considerably on the amount of regional forest cover. A large forest patch may be more important in a heavily fragmented landscape where it is the only forest patch in which birds are able to survive and reproduce, compared to an extensively forested region where it is one of many. Bird populations do not exist in isolation. Effective management hinges on considering the composition of the surrounding landscape as well as the patch itself. A rich landscape will have a diversity of habitat types at a variety of successional stages including: old growth forest, deep interior forest, mid-successional forest, and early successional forest. Ultimately, such a landscape would have the greatest potential to support the greatest diversity of species. Urban Sprawl and Urbanization Another major process affecting forests of southern Ontario is urbanization, which includes the expansion and sprawl of cities, towns, and villages and the trend towards rural living. This often entails the construction of subdivisions and individual homes within or adjacent to woodlots. Urbanization is particularly damaging to natural landscapes because the conversion from a forest to an urban environment of pavement and buildings is not only permanent but is occurring on a large scale. Urban sprawl results in habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as numerous human induced stressors that are either exclusive to, or greatly amplified in urban areas. When we look at the urban gradient we see changes in species composition, diversity, and abundance. The changes that occur at the urbanized end are those associated with a loss of bird species in the region as well as a decrease in the ability of the forest to perform some functions, like cleaning Typical Southern Ontario Landscape Artwork: Peter Burke 30 The Fragmented Forest
destroy nests, and lawns that provide rich feeding grounds for cowbirds. Houses placed adjacent to a woodlot rather than within a woodlot have less of a negative impact on forest bird populations. In Ontario, though forest cover has increased over the past few decades, fragmentation has also increased at least in part due to an increased intrusion of rural residences into the forests. Pigeons on street light — Photo: R. Curtis, VIREO the air and water. Urban animal communities are dominated by a few super-abundant species. As you move into suburban and rural development, this land-use does not invariably destroy forests, but can radically alter the surrounding landscape. While a few species can adapt to human shaped environments, many cannot. Sprawl occurs at the expense of many species that depend on fragile local habitats. In particular, sprawl will cause a decline in habitat specialists and less mobile species. Adjacent Housing The impact of adjacent housing, roads, human activity, and exotic species can lead to severe habitat degradation in urban and rural environments. The number of houses surrounding a forest patch can affect its habitat suitability for many Neotropical migrants. For example, a study in Ontario found Wood Thrushes were absent from fairly large woodlots that were surrounded by numerous houses, but were frequently found in small woodlots with few or no houses on their borders. The presence of houses can also reduce productivity. Houses harbour dogs and cats that may Roads Roads can create barriers to movement. Forest birds may avoid crossing roads or suffer increased mortality from crossing roads. Vehicle traffic noise can be a significant stressor to nesting songbirds, and breeding bird densities are often reduced along roads with high traffic volume. Roads act as edges and forest birds nesting along them may suffer higher rates of predation and parasitism. Road bisecting forest — Photo: Lucas Foerster Photo: Dawn Burke Exotic Species As habitats become urbanized the number of exotic and invasive plants often increases at the expense of native vegetation. The vegetation structure in urban areas is often simplified with fewer dead standing trees, less cover at mid and upper levels, and more ground cover than in natural environments. This reduces bird diversity as specialized groups, like cavity nesters, canopy feeding, and bark foraging guilds are replaced by high densities of generalists or non-native species, like European Starlings and House Sparrows that thrive in heavily disturbed environments. Exotic vegetation can have reduced insect biomass, thus providing less food for breeding birds. Species nesting in this vegetation may suffer increased predation, due to poor habitat structure. The Fragmented Forest 31
Page 1 and 2: Ministry of Natural Resources A lan
Page 3 and 4: A land manager’s guide to conserv
Page 5 and 6: Male Scarlet Tananger — Photo: Je
Page 7 and 8: Photo: Algonquin Museum INTRODUCTIO
Page 9 and 10: Southern Ontario has a landscape ty
Page 11 and 12: Gray tree frog — Photo: Scott Gil
Page 13 and 14: Researcher removing bird from net
Page 15 and 16: Sugar maples — Photo: Robert McCa
Page 17 and 18: of other wildlife including America
Page 19 and 20: Male Chestnut-sided Warbler — Pho
Page 21 and 22: Female American Redstart — Photo:
Page 23 and 24: Male Black-throated Blue Warbler
Page 25 and 26: Male American Redstart — Photo: G
Page 27 and 28: Artwork: Peter Burke Forest Birds i
Page 29 and 30: Flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds —
Page 31 and 32: Photo: Scott Gillingwater Source an
Page 33: Imagery produced by the Provincial
Page 37 and 38: Northern Cardinal — Photo: Daniel
Page 39 and 40: Photo: Larry Watkins FOREST HARVEST
Page 41 and 42: Tree species Additional Carolinian
Page 43 and 44: Photo: Lucas Foerster normally perf
Page 45 and 46: Logging damage — Photo: Lucas Foe
Page 47 and 48: This table illustrates the structur
Page 49 and 50: Conifer plantation — Photo: Ken E
Page 51 and 52: Silvicultural system or method Clea
Page 53 and 54: Female Pileated Woodpecker —Photo
Page 55 and 56: Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker P
Page 57 and 58: Louisiana Warbler Mourning Warbler
Page 59 and 60: Elderberry — Photo: Robert McCaw
Page 61 and 62: Male Northern Flicker in cavity wit
Page 63 and 64: Cedar Waxwings Mourning cloak butte
Page 65 and 66: Photo: Doug Tozer GUIDELINES FOR FO
Page 67 and 68: Barred Owl — Photo: Dan Kaiser Ol
Page 69 and 70: Redwoods —Photo: Jarrid Spicer so
Page 71 and 72: Photo: Lucas Foerster 6. Retain cav
Page 73 and 74: Types of Cavity Trees escape or roo
Page 75 and 76: 9. Limit timing of harvesting activ
Page 77 and 78: Blackberry — Photo: Robert McCaw
Page 79 and 80: that are similar to the historic va
Page 81 and 82: Great Crested Flycatcher — Photo:
Page 83 and 84: hazards, harvest during winter on f
Page 85 and 86:
potential. In these cases, the mana
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Male Blue-winged Warbler — Photo:
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Trembling aspen — Photo: Robert M
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M. C. Brittingham and S. A. Temple.
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Glossary of Terms abiotic — non-l
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conk — hard bracket or shelf fung
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ground cover — the layer of veget
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nurse crop — any tree, shrub, or
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site preparation — chemical (e.g.
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Chestnut-sided Warbler — Photo: B
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Diet The Ruffed Grouse diet is comp
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Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes er
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Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicu
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Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus
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Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pilea
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Acadian Flycatcher Empidonax viresc
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Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus 19 m
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Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atri
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Brown Creeper Certhia americana The
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Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina Di
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Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
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Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chr
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Cerulean Warbler Dendroica cerulea
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Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapilla In Ont
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Hooded Warbler Wilsonia citrina Fem
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Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardin
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Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea Fem
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List of Photographers Al Woodliffe
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