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
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
