FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Paper sesssion TOS Fall Symposium

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

      TENNESSEE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY 2004 FALL SYMPOSIUM
      October 8-10 at Cookeville
        Join the TOS for the Fall Meeting and Symposium, October 8-10, 2004, at 
Cookeville, TN. 

        The Saturday agenda consists of morning field trips, a short business 
meeting, and the annual symposium in which presenters from across the state 
describe their recent bird studies.  The meeting will be held at the Baymont 
Inn at 1151 S. Jefferson Avenue in Cookeville.

      Saturday, October 9

      1:30 PM - BANDING NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS IN EASTERN TENNESSEE.
      JIM GIACOMO (JGIOCOMO@xxxxxxx), University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

      Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) populations are difficult to 
monitor during the non-breeding season not only because they are nocturnal, but 
also because they are secretive and generally quiet relative to other owl 
species. Recent banding efforts across the eastern US have shown that this shy 
owl is easily captured during fall migration. In 2002 and 2003, we established 
a banding station near Maryville, Tennessee to determine the feasibility of 
monitoring Saw-whet Owls during migration and winter in eastern Tennessee. 
During our first year, we ran the station intermittently in the evening from 
dusk to between 0100 - 0300 EST for a total of 45 hours from 27 October through 
15 December 2002 and 40 hours from 16 March through 30 March 2003. We caught 
two females, the first 22 Nov 2002 and the second 16 March 2003. In our second 
season, we banded 27 Northern Saw-whet Owls between 15 November 2003 and 20 
January 2004 during a total of 200 hours of effort. Northern Saw-whet Owls are 
generally considered uncommon to rare in the Southeast, but our present study 
indicates these small owls may be more common than previously thought. 
Extrapolating both our current work and historical records from the Southeast, 
we believe there is tremendous potential to increase our understanding of the 
ecology of these tiny owls. Following set protocols, like those of Project 
Owlnet, provides excellent opportunities for both the collection of scientific 
data and education. 

      1:50 PM - TIMBER HARVEST TO IMPROVE HARDWOOD FOREST HABITAT FOR SONGBIRDS 
ON TENNESSEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: EFFECTS ON AVIAN POPULATION DENSITIES 
AND NEST SURVIVAL RATES. 
      BENJAMIN S. THATCHER (thatcher@xxxxxxx ) and DAVID A. BUEHLER, Department 
of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

      Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge has managed its hardwood forests with 
experimental selection cutting in an attempt to increase nesting and foraging 
substrate for mature forest songbirds. We present the results from an ongoing 
study designed to experimentally test the effects of this management on the 
avian community. We measured habitat characteristics and collected daily nest 
survival, Brown-headed Cowbird brood parasitism, and population density data 
within twelve 20-ha research units, both prior to and following forest 
management. Kentucky Warbler and Indigo Bunting densities increased 
significantly (>10x) in harvest vs. reference units 2 years post-treatment. 
Wood Thrush densities and nest survival rates decreased in the harvest units 
following treatment. In the short-term, proactive forest management appears to 
increase avian community diversity but may have mixed effects on breeding 
mature forest songbirds. Results from this study will be used to make 
recommendations for adaptive management. 

      2:10 PM - DO EPHEMERAL PONDS PROVIDE HABITAT FOR BIRDS?
      BRETT R. SCHEFFERS (schefbr0@xxxxxxxxxxx), J. BERT C. HARRIS, and David 
G. HASKELL, The University of the South, Sewanee, TN. 

      Seasonally flooded pools known as ephemeral or vernal ponds provide 
important habitat for amphibians and plants, but their role in avian ecology 
has been little studied. We tested the hypotheses that ephemeral ponds have 
greater avian richness and abundance than the surrounding upland forest on the 
Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Using a paired sample design, population 
surveys of the avian community were conducted in the winter and spring of 2004 
at vernal pools and adjacent upland forest locations. The number of individuals 
within the avian community at the ephemeral ponds was significantly greater 
than that of adjacent upland control sites. In addition, the richness of the 
avian community at ephemeral ponds was significantly greater than the adjacent 
forest. These data suggest that in addition to the well-documented benefits 
they provide for other plant and animal communities, ephemeral ponds provide 
habitat for birds. The findings of this study also have implications for the 
conservation and management of these ecologically diverse wetlands. 

      2:30 PM - TENNESSEE WILDLIFE HERITAGE TRUST
      FRED J. ALSOP III (alsopf@xxxxxxxx), Tennessee Wildlife Heritage Trust, 
and CLARENCE COFFEY, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

      The Tennessee Wildlife Heritage Trust, formed in 2003 by the Tennessee 
Wildlife Resources Foundation, is a non-profit organization dedicated to 
supporting the conservation, protection and restoration of Tennessee's non-game 
wildlife species and their habitats. The organization is assisting and 
providing funding to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Many new 
opportunities to secure funding for Tennessee's non-game species, representing 
97% of Tennessee's fauna, exist today that were not available in the past. 
Fund-raising events, auctions, wildlife diversity field day celebrations, 
corporate and individual contributors, volunteers and sales of the new 
"Watchable Wildlife" collectible stamp, which will feature a different species 
each year, are providing new sources of funding for Tennessee's non-game 
species.

      2:45 PM - BREAK

      3:00 PM - FORAGE TREE SELECTION AND ENERGY DEMANDS OF WINTERING 
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS. 
      H. DAWN WILKINS (hwilkins@xxxxxxx), Department of Biological Sciences, 
University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, TN 

      A number of organisms, including Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus 
varius), use plant sap, gum, and nectar as a source of nourishment. The factors 
used to choose individual plants and avoid others are relatively unknown. I 
compared the sugar concentration, water content, bark thickness, phloem 
thickness, and orientation of sap wells on forage trees to trees of the same 
species and diameter and found no differences in these characteristics between 
trees used by sapsuckers and those that were not. I manipulated the sugar 
concentration of experimental trees through girdling to see if selection was 
affected. Girdled trees had higher sugar concentrations and more sap wells 
excavated above the girdle than below. Sapsuckers may be choosing forage trees 
at random or based on other characteristics such as bark complexity and tree 
health. In addition, I examined the possibility of sapsuckers using the phloem 
tissue to fulfill their energetic demands during the winter when there is 
little sugar movement in the trees. Based on my calculations, it is unlikely 
that sapsuckers are meeting their daily energetic needs from consuming sap. My 
evidence suggests sapsuckers consume phloem tissue and that it is broken down 
as it passes through the birds' digestive system. I hypothesize that symbionts 
allow sapsuckers to digest the cellulose in the phloem tissue. Their total 
energy intake is probably a mixture of sap, phloem tissue, fruits, and insects.

      3:20 PM - WHAT IS TWRA DOING FOR BIRDS? and TENNESSEE'S STATE WILDLIFE 
GRANTS - COMPREHENSIVE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION STRATEGY PLANNING EFFORT.
      MICHAEL ROEDEL (michael.roedel@xxxxxxxxxxx), Tennessee Wildlife Resources 
Agency, Nashville

      In March of this year I moved into the position of State Ornithologist 
with TWRA. In the months since, I've been catching up on existing projects as 
well as working on new issues. My primary focus for the past decade has been on 
the monitoring and inventory of birds. I hope to continue that monitoring focus 
with a goal of providing better information to land managers towards habitat 
management that benefits birds. Long-term planning for conservation of 
habitats, increasing public awareness about birds, promoting and participating 
in cooperative efforts that protect non-game birds are all part of my 
long-range plans in this position.

      Wallace Coffey
      Tennessee Ornithological Society
      Bristol, TN







       



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