James G. Dickson

Harvest is an important mortality factor for male eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris). To effectively manage harvest and ensure quality hunting it is necessary to understand the relationship between annual survival and factors such as hunter access, season length, and bag limits. We banded 261 male wild turkeys from 2002 - 2009 and estimated survival and recovery parameters based on band recoveries from 2002 - 2012 on private lands in the pine-dominated landscape of north-central Louisiana. Hunting season length was 23 days from 2002 - 2006 and 30 days from 2007- 2012...

Winter resources may limit bird populations. In this study we document the winter bird community and assess habitat relationships in a single large loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation (~500 ha) from shortly after establishment into the middle-age closed canopy stage at 16 years. The winter bird community changed as the plantation grass/forb/shrub community gave way to low shrubs, and again as low shrubs were dominated and mostly supplanted by the rapidly growing pine trees. The highest bird abundance (436/km2) and the most species (22) occurred the second year after planting (the first...

Herbicides are frequently used in pine stands to control competing hardwoods. We investigated the longevity of 4 species of hardwood snags (mockernut hickory [Carya tomentosa], sweetgum [Liquidambar styraciflua], southern red oak [Quercus falcata], and post oak [Q. stellata]) after treatment with 2,4-D herbicide. In addition, we observed evidence of foraging activity and cavity excavation by cavity-nesting birds. Hickory and sweetgum were the least durable; by the fifth year only 16% of sweetgum and 47% of mockernut hickory snags remained standing, and only 11% of the original snags of...

Birds were censused annually from 4 250- x 80-m transects in a young pine plantation from age 2 to 17 to assess changes in the bird community. Bird abundance was low and the bird community was the least diverse when the pine plantation was sparsely vegetated at age 2. As the plantation developed rapidly into the shrub stage, the bird community became more abundant and diverse. Bird abundance increased consistently until plantation age 6, but then declined as the pine canopy closed and shaded out lower deciduous vegetation. Bird species diversity increased gradually during the early years,...

Winter birds were censured on snag and snagless transects during 3 winters from 1977 to 1980 in a clearcut in east Texas to assess the impact of snag retention on the bird community. For the cavity user group there was greater bird abundance, species diversity, and number of species on snag than on snagless transects. The cavity user group included: eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis), loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), Carolina chickadee (Parus carolinensis), red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), red-headed woodpecker (M. erythrocephalus),...

Number of active nests was compared with number of territories of singing male birds determined by spot mapping for 16 common species in north Louisiana. The number of active nests per number of territories ranged from 0 to 2.3. Carolina wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus), white-eyed vireos (Vireo griseus), yellow-billed cuckoos (Coccyzus americanus), northern orioles (Icterus galbula), orchard orioles (Icterus spurius), common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), eastern meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), and bobwhites (Colirr.us virginianus) had less than 0.6 nests per territory. American robins (...

Four cultural treatments were tested at 2 spacings (3.0 x 3.0 m and 3.0 x 1.5 m) for effects on growth and survival of planted honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and invasion by native vegetation. Treatments were: mowing, and overseedings ofvelvetgrass (Holcus lanatus), Korean lespedeza (Lespedeza stipulacea), or a combination of fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and ladino clover (Trifolium repens). Nurse crops and mowing reduced invasion by native vegetation but also reduced honeysuckle production. Invasion of native vegetation on control plots did not prevent eventual honeysuckle establishment...

When birds were censused in pine and pine-hardwood stands of different heights to determine the effects of stand structure on winter bird populations, the shortest stands generally had more birds than taller stands. The pine sapling stand was lower than all other stands in bird population characteristics. Pine-hardwood stands were generally similar to pine stands in number of species, but higher in species diversity, and lower in bird density than pine stands of comparable height.

A Bobwhite population in the Georgia Piedmont was censused periodically throughout the year by bird dogs, baiting and sightings, and trapping. The population (on a 100 acre basis) varied from alate summer high of I5.3 birds to the year later figure of 2.7 adult quail. Average weekly losses calculated for each different interval were: 1 September to 1 November-2.8 percent. 1 November to 1 April-2.0 percent, 1 April to 1 July-3.2 percent, and 1 July to 1 September-3.3 percent (summer figure for adult birds only).