Hi Haans,
I don't know how helpful this will be to you, but over the weekend Beth and
I were in the area of the Allegheny National Forest in PA. Hiking near
Tionesta Creek we had quite a few Ovenbirds calling, and a couple near East
Hickory Creek.
Best,
Steve
On 5/29/12 11:26 AM, "Haans Petruschke" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> In 2001 I participated in a breeding bird survey of the natural areas of
> the Holden Arboretum conducted by Carol Skinner:
>
> https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/23979/V103N4_098.pdf;jsessioni
> d=352A4364F679C6670B2332DBAC855275?sequence=1
>
>
> In that study we found Ovenbirds in good numbers on all wooded properties.
>
> Since 2007 I have been conducting ongoing breeding bird surveys or the same
> areas. The protocol we use is different. We use the OBBA2 upgrade protocol
> and no set transects, instead tracking our variable routes via GPS.
> Additionally we only survey on weekends where as the Skinner study was
> conducted every day of the week, and because of the weekday runs, we would
> start far earlier than we do now, usually at 0500 or 0530 as opposed to
> 0600 or 0630 now.
>
> We do not find Ovenbirds in the numbers we did in 2001. In 26 runs during
> May, June and July of 2011 we found Ovenbird only 3 times, compared to 15
> times during the same time frame in 2001. I wonder how much of this
> difference is due to less coverage and later starts and how much is due to
> actual declines in Ovenbird populations on these properties?
>
> European earthworms have devastated the leaf litter and herbacious layers
> in some areas of Holden's forests but most areas are very healthy.
> Holden's forests tend to be large and unfragmented ranging from a few
> hundred acres to over 1000 acres in 2 areas.
>
> I have sort of noticed this lack of Ovenbirds but did not realize how
> dramatic it was until was prompted to look at my field notes by David
> Brinkman's comments. This now has me wondering if there is cause for
> concern and if we should be looking for Ovenbirds more carefully. Because
> the OBBA2 data is qualitative and not quantitative It does not help to
> answer this question, and because of the changes in protocol from the first
> OBBA it is difficult to draw conclusions over the 2 decades between the
> studies.
>
> Haans Petruschke
> Kirtland
>
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--------------------------------------------
Steve Cagan, photographer
[log in to unmask] € www.stevecagan.com
www.pbase.com/stevecagan € www.stevecagan.blogspot.com
216-932-2753 (USA)
______________________________________________________________________
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Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
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