Assessing Ecosystem Restoration Alternatives in Eastern Deciduous Hardwood Forests Using Avian Nest Survival

The effects of anthropogenic forest disturbance on avian populations are only starting to be understood, with most research focusing on community richness and species abundance. Monitoring nesting survival is becoming an important and increasingly reliable method for assessing habitat quality. We investigated nest survival and Brown-headed Cowbird nest parasitism of 18 Neotropical migratory bird species in experimentally managed mixed-oak forests in southeast Ohio. We monitored nests during one pre-treatment year and four post-treatment years in four treatment plots: thin, burn, thin + burn, and unmanipulated control. Nesting activity was lower in the first two post-treatment years, but returned to pre-treatment levels in the last two post-treatment years. Overall post-treatment nesting success in the thin and thin + burn treatments exceeded that in the control and burn plots. Ground and shrub nesting species responded negatively to burning alone, but were not affected by the other treatments. Understory nesting success was initially lower in the burn and thin + burn treatments than in the thin only treatment, but increased in the thin and thin + burn treatment in the final two years. Furthermore, we observed bird species nesting in the thin and thin + burn treatments in the final two years that had not been recorded in the previous three years. Hence, the thinned habitats attracted secondary scrub nesting species. Nest heights were significantly higher in burn and thin + burn treatments. We did not detect Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism until the third and fourth years post-treatment, but nest parasitism was still low at 4.1% of active nests. Our results suggest that combining selective harvests (thinning) with prescribed fire is the best of these forest management plans when considering avian nest survival.