Comments on: Fragmented & Young Forest preferred by Migrating Songbirds http://www.gavan.ca/animals/birds/fragmented-young-forest-preferred-by-migrating-songbirds/ A website proudly muddying the line between my private and public persona. Wed, 08 Sep 2010 23:17:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Laura K http://www.gavan.ca/animals/birds/fragmented-young-forest-preferred-by-migrating-songbirds/comment-page-1/#comment-43778 Laura K Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:01:15 +0000 http://www.gavan.ca/?p=672#comment-43778 Good to be introduced to this paper as I'm currently writing/thinking about migration. Similar findings to the one by Bonter, Gauthreeaux, and Donovan, who used radar technology to find pockets of migrants. A snippet of their abstract "Concentration areas were characterized by 1.2 times more forest cover and 9.3 times more water cover than areas with little migrant activity. We detected a strong negative relationship between activity of migratory birds and agricultural land uses. Examination of individual migration events confirmed the importance of fragments of forested habitat in highly altered landscapes and highlighted large concentrations of birds departing from near-shore terrestrial areas in the Great Lakes basin." And now, I'm off to see migrants landing in the near-shore banding station at Braddock Bay Bird Observatory! Good to be introduced to this paper as I’m currently writing/thinking about migration. Similar findings to the one by Bonter, Gauthreeaux, and Donovan, who used radar technology to find pockets of migrants. A snippet of their abstract “Concentration areas were characterized by 1.2 times more forest cover and 9.3 times more water cover than areas with little migrant activity. We detected a strong negative relationship between activity of migratory birds and agricultural land uses. Examination of individual migration events confirmed the importance of fragments of forested habitat in highly altered landscapes and highlighted large concentrations of birds departing from near-shore terrestrial areas in the Great Lakes basin.”
And now, I’m off to see migrants landing in the near-shore banding station at Braddock Bay Bird Observatory!

]]> By: Gavan http://www.gavan.ca/animals/birds/fragmented-young-forest-preferred-by-migrating-songbirds/comment-page-1/#comment-43647 Gavan Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:54:54 +0000 http://www.gavan.ca/?p=672#comment-43647 @Zen Birdfeeder That's an interesting question that I don't have a good answer for. If I was to enter into <em>conjecture</em>, I suspect that since all birds need to fuel up and re-fuel, so to speak, while migrating, that they may be choosing these places regardless of if there are first-year birds with them. I'm reminded by Dr. Bridget Stutchbury's <a href="http://www.yorku.ca/bstutch/research.htm" rel="nofollow">recently-published work</a> that showed that spring migration was much faster than fall migration (in two bird species, at least). Fall migration may be more "leisurely" due to the search for food. @Zen Birdfeeder

That’s an interesting question that I don’t have a good answer for. If I was to enter into conjecture, I suspect that since all birds need to fuel up and re-fuel, so to speak, while migrating, that they may be choosing these places regardless of if there are first-year birds with them. I’m reminded by Dr. Bridget Stutchbury’s recently-published work that showed that spring migration was much faster than fall migration (in two bird species, at least). Fall migration may be more “leisurely” due to the search for food.

]]> By: The Zen Birdfeeder http://www.gavan.ca/animals/birds/fragmented-young-forest-preferred-by-migrating-songbirds/comment-page-1/#comment-43640 The Zen Birdfeeder Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:06:09 +0000 http://www.gavan.ca/?p=672#comment-43640 I found this information interesting and I guess a little surprising compared to some other reports I've heard that expressed concern about forest fragmentation as it impacts migrating birds. It IS encouraging though. Could the choice of habitat in fall migration be impacted by the 1st year birds in the flock? I found this information interesting and I guess a little surprising compared to some other reports I’ve heard that expressed concern about forest fragmentation as it impacts migrating birds. It IS encouraging though.
Could the choice of habitat in fall migration be impacted by the 1st year birds in the flock?

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