Friday, June 15, 2012
STATE OF CONNECTICUT FOREST BIRDS
The State of the Forest Birds, a paper prepared by Bird Conservation Research, Inc. for the 2011 Connecticut State of the Birds, is now available through the Bird Conservation Contributions web site. The paper is newly abstracted and updated from its original version, and includes absolute population estimates for a number of species. The estimates are based on data gathered during the eight year Forest Bird Survey of Southern New England, which employed the variable circular plot technique to survey 148 transects in both summer and winter. Most notably, the data showed that several species thought to be rare in Connecticut, such as the Cerulean Warbler, had populations larger and more widespread than previously believed.
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Are the Ceruleans being found in new habitats? That seems to be the case in PA.
ReplyDeleteThere have been small populations in CT since the 1930s at least, but these have been expanding from the first places they were known from. I am not aware that habitat choice has changed- mesic mature forest, sometimes with tree fall gaps. I suspect it is more related to CT forests continuing to mature. Our forests more closely resemble old growth than at any time since Pilgrim days, and the trend is for continued maturation and replacement of oaks with more shade tolerant species.
DeleteSend me an e-mail at mail@birdconservationresearch.org and we can stay in touch on this and other forest bird issues. We'll be publishing a number of papers on these topics in the near future.