Petra Bohall Wood

Foraging Selection and Behavior of the Cerulean Warbler in Response to Timber Harvests

Foraging ecology of cerulean warblers (Dendroica cerulea) is not well studied, yet an understanding of foraging behavior and selection of foraging habitat is important for conservation and management. During the 2006 breeding season, 359 foraging observations were collected on eight study plots in West Virginia and four in Kentucky in a mixture of national forests, state Wildlife Management Area (WMAs), and private forests. We analyzed foraging observations to quantify tree species preference based on use versus availability based on a chi-square goodness-of-fit test. Cerulean warblers...

Effects of Habitat Change along Breeding Bird Survey Routes in the Central Appalachians on Cerulean Warbler Population

The cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea) is one of the highest priority bird species in the eastern United States because populations have declined 4.3% annually during 1966-2005 based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Habitat loss and fragmentation due to land use changes is thought to be one of the major factors contributing to the decline. BBS routes, the primary source for monitoring bird population trends, include 50 sampling stops every 0.8 km. Although data from BBS routes are extrapolated to determine regional trends in bird populations, it is important to understand the effects...

Canada Warbler Habitat Suitability in an Active Industrial Forest in West Virginia

Canada warbler (Wilsonia canadensis), a woodland breeding songbird of special concern in West Virginia, has been declining throughout its range at a rate of 3.5% since 1980 (0.5% within West Virginia and 4.6% in the Allegheny Plateau Physiographic Region). While Canada warblers use primarily moist mixed coniferous-deciduous forest, they can be disturbance specialists at higher elevation locations in the southern portion of their range, including West Virginia, suggesting timber harvests might be an effective management option. The objectives of this study were to determine whether timber...

Comparison of Reclaimed and Unmined Woodcock Summer Diurnal Habitat in West Virginia

Reclaimed surface mines are used by American woodcock (Scolopax minor) as diurnal habitat during summer in West Virginia. However, habitat quality of these sites relative to that of other (unmined) diurnal habitat in West Virginia has not been previously evaluated, making it difficult to assess the potential for using mine reclamation to create woodcock habitat. We compared vegetation and soil characteristics at points where we flushed woodcock on reclaimed surface mines (25 flush points at 11 sites) and unmined locations (26 flush points at 13 sites) in West Virginia during the summers of...